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loving those who would throw stones at us

August 2nd, 2018 | 2 min read

By Matthew Loftus

I have always savored Wesley Hill’s love for the Gospel; his first book, Washed and Waiting, is just full of it, which is why it’s a great book to read even if you don’t care a bit about the homosexuality debate. The talks from the Revoice Conference are up, and I loved listening to Wes’s sermon from John 8:

We’re set free for a freedom to embrace a radically new way of life: free to say no to sexual sin and to say yes to friendship, yes to community, yes to hospitality, yes to service, yes to beauty. We are liberated for a whole new way of being human in the world because of Christ and, friends, we’re free even to love those who would throw stones at us. I find myself imagining the woman walking down the hill from the temple and she makes eye contact with someone that she saw in the crowd with a stone ready to hurl at her and she doesn’t have to retaliate, she doesn’t have to hate. Hatred is bondage, bitterness is bondage, revenge is bondage. She can let that go and she can actually pray for blessing for the very ones who wanted her dead.

Watch the whole thing here:

Matthew Loftus

Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Christianity Today, Comment, & First Things and he is a regular contributor for Christ and Pop Culture. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.MatthewAndMaggie.org