Leading With Love - Nehemiah 9 (kinda)

So I’m reading Nehemiah 9, this a.m. and I am thinking again as the passage reads;
3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day…..here again, like yesterday…this reverence for God’s word, this expectance of those who were ‘believers/followers’ and I think about another verse (totally unrelated) but I guess its what I have been thinking about this week.
1Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
And this thought struck me….why would we lead with anything but love? Why have I led with doctrine my whole life? Doctrine (the message of the cross) is foolishness to those perishing….the bible even says it.
As we talked about in Community Group last night….feeding the homeless a hot dog or a hamburger…is a loving thing to do….its a token from us to begin a conversation. A lot of these folks can find a free meal all over the downtown area…..maybe not quite as tasty as the burgers we serve up….but they can get nourished and filled.
But the token of love is so that we find out their greater needs. We may feed 400 to find out the needs of 3. But even then, it may be shelter, it may be medication, it may be assistance wading through the maze with governmental agencies, it may be a job, it may be a dress for an interview, it may be supplies for his/or work….and these needs we can meet. Still leading with love, meeting the needs…..and ultimately….God may whisper to that person….ask them why they do what they do.
I believe the easiest less messy thing to do is lead with doctrine. Most people are intolerant of folks cramming religion down their throat….they recoil, yet we’ve done our job, we’ve ‘planted the seed’ ….. now it’s up to someone else to cultivate (i.e. love and nurture). If we can take an example of farming a bit further. Their soooooo much work that must be done prior to planting the seed. Farmers till the fields, fertilize, herbicide, retill and pray for rain at the appropriate time…..even before the seed is planted. Much love and work go into the crop on the front end prior to the ‘seed being planted’.
On a time scale…way more time is spent in the fields before the crop is growing…and being harvested…than the actual time to reap. It’s just messier, it’s less glamorous and you don’t get to see the results.
Leading with love is tilling the fields, its priming the pump.

This is why Christ asked….”do you want to be healed” to those that didn’t know him…and reserved “who do you say that I am” for those who knew and followed him.