Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~ Romans 5:5

As someone who counsels a lot of people, and am often baffled by their response (or lack thereof) to some of the Bible-based answers I give them, I’ve prayed for a long time for God to show me, in some tangible way, how to understand this.

Here’s what I got:

Picture an ebola clinic – Patients that are ravaged with the disease are coughing uncontrollably, running fevers, and suffering from massive headaches. As a doctor in this clinic, I would not walk up to one, point to someone who has just succumbed to the disease, and tell them, “Stop coughing, right now, or this is going to happen to you.” or “If you insist on keeping that headache, you will end up…