Series: Love
If someone asked you to name just one thing that sets you apart because you are a Christian, what would it be? Is it because we always wear the appropriate thing to church on Sunday? Or make sure we are at the building every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night? Or what about our casseroles, a good Christian can make a great Chicken Spaghetti, right? No tattoos? No piercings (except on the ears ladies, we all know that’s OK!)? Did you read the latest Christian fiction? These are all the things that make us stand out as Christians… Right?? And if these aren’t the things that make us Christians, why do we spend so much time on them?
We are not Christians because we follow all the right rules, we are Christians because we love… unreasonably and without judgment. Matthew 22:37-40 says:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We have been named hypocrites, and for good reason. We preach a New Testament religion, with love at its center, and yet we constantly set ourselves above those we should be serving. We sing about having a servant’s heart, but we don’t mean it. We want to serve those we deem worthy, or those who give us the proper amount of gratitude. We justify our selfishness by saying things like “I don’t feel safe. They’re probably going to use my money to buy alcohol. They just ask for handouts because they are lazy.” Is this how we show God’s love? Mother Teresa has said “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” In the Old Testament, God knew that this was an issue and would continue to be one, and so He left us with this command:
7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart… 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (Deuteronomy 15:7-15)
What are the wicked thoughts God would ask us to refrain from? What does He feel when we turn our backs on the poor? (Or the teens with the foul language? Or the parents with children that are filthy and misbehaved? Or the elderly? The imprisoned? The depressed? ) What does he think of us when we love them?
The greatest of the commandments is Love… How have we managed to forget this simple four letter word? How have we managed to replace LOVE with DUTY? God does not call us to be safe with our rules in our churches, but to go out and love the people in the world. Just as they are. God does not ask us to change people so that they can follow our rules, He tells us to love them. The change that must occur in someone’s heart in order to follow God is not our responsibility… ours is to love. Do we think so little of God that we believe He cannot work on someone’s heart without our interference?
But Love is difficult; it requires us to put aside prejudice, step into uncomfortable situations, and let go of our need to separate ourselves from those who are different or who we don’t understand. And we have shown that we are incapable of doing this alone.
Dear God, I want you to be proud of me. I want to show your love to everyone around me. Please work on my heart, make me see others as You see them; Your children that I am ALWAYS called to love. Help me to stop judging people. I do not know their life, I do not know their struggles, only You do Lord. Change me to be the person You want me to be. Put me in situations that will challenge me, do not let me become complacent or blind to those who need your love the most. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Corey Rose
Santa Clara, California
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