BEING FULL OF LOVE, CONCERN, AND SYMPATHY
IN A MEEK AND HUMBLE SPIRIT,
WITH THE FULL REALIZATION THAT
WHAT PEOPLE NEED IS THE LORD
AND WHAT CAN SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM
IS TO MEET WITH THE LORD
In their contact with people, the elders must be full of love, concern, and sympathy in a meek and humble spirit (Gal. 6:1). Only a reconstituted person can be like this. Any negative case in the church life is an exhausting matter. Visiting the persons involved in an issue and determining who is right and who is wrong exhausts the elders’ time and energy. In such a situation, natural love, natural concern, natural kindness, and natural sympathy cannot last. The saints cannot be helped by us unless we have a real love, concern, and sympathy for them in the Lord. Otherwise, a small issue may be built into a major case in the church, like a small hill becoming a great mountain. Regardless of who comes to us, we should wait for a chance to minister Christ to them. Whether they are right or wrong, they are short of Christ. In the elders’ contact with people, they must have the full realization that what the people need is the Lord and what can solve the people’s problem is to meet with the Lord.
It is not only a temptation but also a snare of Satan to try to deal in the realm of good and evil with a difficult case between two parties. When one of the parties speaks with us, we should simply minister Christ the Lord to him. Eventually, the brother may realize that he is short of Christ. He will repent and receive more of the Lord, and by receiving Christ, his problem will be cared for. However, many of us upon hearing of a situation may simply charge the persons involved to be patient and exercise their love. If someone receives this kind of help, they may thank us and try to put it into practice. After a short time, however, they may come back to say that this way does not work. The more they try to be patient, the worse the situation gets. In this situation, both we and the two parties involved have been snared by Satan. The way to get out of the snare is to minister Christ to the persons and help them to realize they are short of Christ. Spontaneously, their case will be solved. The way of ministering Christ has been tested, and it always works. We all must realize that we are short of Christ. This is our problem.
We must be rescued out of the realm of good and evil and must remain in the realm of life. If we are full of Christ, we will be reconstituted persons. We will be full of love and concern. We will sympathize with the persons whom we contact because they are short of Christ, and we will have a real concern to minister Christ to them. This is the real love. We will not care who is right and who is wrong. We will not live in that kingdom; we will live in another kingdom, the kingdom of life. When any case among the saints is brought to us, we will not be snared by the realm of good and evil.
(Elders' Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
