My topic, generally speaking, is religion. Specifically my topic is Christianity. More specifically, love.
Today, in the modern church, there are many ideas floating about as to what it really means to be a Christian and to live the “Christian life”. Many people, and pastors, think and teach that if you are a good person and you invite people to church that you are doing your part as a good Christian.
How wrong they are.
Jesus Christ, while here on this earth, didn’t just invite people to the synagogue to hear him speak. He didn’t just act like a good person. He loved people. He loved the lovely and the unlovable. The most poignant example of this could probably be found in John 8. To summarize the passage, a woman has been brought before Jesus, the woman having been caught in the act of adultery with a man not her husband. The men who had brought her to Jesus wanted to stone her — the punishment according to Jewish law — to which Jesus replied with the famous saying “he who is without sin, cast the first stone”. He then forgave her and sent her on her way. No altar call. No giant outreach event. No invitation to church. Now, if our idea of a good Christian life is based on these ideas, then by our own definition Jesus Christ was not a very good Christian! Obviously, since our faith and our belief systems are founded on the life and death and life of Jesus [1 Corinthians 15], we are the ones who are in error. This warrants a fresh and new look at what the Christian life actually is, and I hope to provide this in the next paragraphs.
To the new Christian, I think one of the most confusing passages in the New Testament can be found in Matthew 25. Verses 31-46 (NIV):
31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41″Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44″They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45″He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46″Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Now what could sheep and goats possibly have to do with the Christian life? Well, nothing, really, but the passage has a lot to offer for the new perspective. This passage is a picture of our final judgment and has a small list of what were being judged on. Think of it as a study guide of sorts. In school, if there was a big test or and exam coming up, the professor would often give out a study guide so the students would know what is on the exam. God has done the same thing, but instead of an exam, we’re being tested on our life. Take note of the six distinct attributes used here to describe persons in need: hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, prisoner. We are being tested on how we react to and act toward people who fall into not just these groups, but people in general. Take note to the second group of those being judged, especially to how they respond to the Lord. The phrase “when did we see…” implies passivity — an un-willingness to seek out the needy, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and the forgotten. How much does this sound like Christians today, who let life happen to them, waiting for an opportunity to share Christ? The only problem with that mindset is the opportunity never comes if you’re not looking for it. Instead of being passive, we are called to be pro-active in our lives. James 1:27 says this (NASB):
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Note the word usage in the second half of the verse: “to visit”. The verb “visit” is not a passive verb; rather it is an aggressive, proactive word. No one has ever accidentally visited someone. The verb “to visit” implies a sense of purpose, a mission, a reason for the action. James is calling us to be purposeful and deliberate! On top of that challenge, he offers an incentive: please God. Take a look at the first part of the verse. James is giving us the secret to what God desires for us. The verse could be understood this way:
This is what God finds pure and holy, and what you should do: go find orphans and widows — the lowliest of the low — and help them in their distress. Also, keep yourself clean from the filth of the world.
Now once you have found those you are going to help, what exactly should you do?
Ephesians 4:2 puts it plainly (YLT):
“With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love…”
The word “forbear” means to go with; to endure together. Essentially what Paul is telling us to do is to find those who are unlovable or unlovely, and endure with them in their plight. These two verses, combined with Matthew 25, give us this simple and effective plan of action:
(1) Find those who are in need.
(2) Stay with them. Endure with them.
(3) Meet their needs.
Coincidentally, this act is also called by another name: love.
Love, as an idea, has been perverted and twisted over the many years to the point where no one really knows what love is anymore. Love is complex, yet deceptively simple. Love is a choice and an action. In order to show love to someone, you must decide to love them in the first place. That is the choice. To act on that choice — to love them — is the action. 1 Corinthians 13:3-13 gives us a list of the attributes of love:
3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
9For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Verse 3 gives us a chilling warning: even if you do all of these things and have not love — or do not choose to love — everything you have done is meaningless. Even though it starts with a curse, the passage ends with a promise: if you act according to these guidelines, if you love your fellow man, you will be rewarded in heaven (v9-10). Notice that nowhere, in any of these passages, is anything stated about passing out tracts or being obnoxiously loud and outspoken about Jesus. Granted, there is a time and place for that, but not every day.
But wait, if we never say anything about God, and instead just help people, how will we share the gospel? Let’s take a look at John 13:34-35:
34″A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The question of “how” is unmistakably answered for us right here: we don’t have to say anything. A Christian need not initiate the conversation if their life asks the questions for them. Now, I am not saying to never talk about the Gospel; what I am saying is act, then if someone initiates it, speak. Jesus said your actions, how you treat others, will reflect who you serve. If you love others, people will know you love Jesus. If you treat others poorly, they will know you love yourself most of all.
One of my favorite evangelism stories was told by Stephen Christian, singer from the band Anberlin, about a mainstream tour they were on. It was the last night of the tour and Stephen had been praying about the fact that he hadn’t had any opportunities to share Christ with any of the artists or crew on the tour. That very night after the show, one of the crew came up to him and asked him why the band never went out and partied after shows and didn’t partake in the usual festivities the other bands on tour did. Sensing an opportunity, Stephen started explaining that the guys in the band were Christians and had made a decision to live differently. Minutes later in the conversation, Stephen noticed a small crowd around him and the original crewmember listening to him lay out the Gospel. Only God knows what kinds of seeds were planted that night, but the story illustrates the point that you don’t have to be outwardly outspoken about your faith to sharer Jesus with people. Just living, and loving, shows who you serve.
And that is what the Christian life is all about: love.
Jesus Christ, the founder of our faith, loved people. He fed the hungry. He clothed the needy. He healed the sick. He visited the weak.
True religion, true Christianity, is this: to love the unlovable, the unlovely, and to meet their needs with compassion and grace.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I really appreciated finding this on here, but I have a note to add.
In one of the beginning paragraphs I noticed “Now what could sheep and goats possibly have to do with the Christian life?”
What’s so awesome about the Bible, is that there’s a reason for everything in there. When you consider what Jesus calls us to be, (He is the shepherd, we his flock) there’s a neat idea that can come up: Jesus separated those who followed and belonged to him (his sheep) from those that went their own way, but were similar superficially to the sheep (Goats). Goats don’t follow directions, sheep are utterly dependent on the shepherd. Jesus’ sheep are commended on the path they’ve led in the pattern of their shepherd, and the shepherd beckons those not of his flock to leave. These goats represent people who might think that praying this or that insincerely when they were pressured to was a sort of eternal insurance policy.
Thank you for an incredibly well done article!