Loving Others God’s Way

“Loving others God’s way is founded upon truth, holiness, divine justice, and all that is wise, right and good.”

“Love your neighbor” or “treat others as you want to be treated” are statements we often hear from churches, activist groups or politicians when trying to gain support on hot button issues like illegal immigration, racism or other social justice causes. One billboard put up by a church said, “Love trans people.”(Photo by Brian Merrill from Pixabay.)

Where does this phrase come from? A newspaper article I read said this golden rule is found in all major religions and is part of an ancient moral code. But is there an original source? The billboard had a Bible reference on it, Matthew 22:37-40 where Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself"

This moral code comes from God and His Word. If one has a genuine and fully committed love for God, it will be evidenced through loving others. Why? Because all people are created by God in His image, so if we say we are truly committed to Him, then we will love those whom He created.

But how does God want us to love others? There are two possible ways. God’s way or mankind’s way. Mankind’s way is an immoral love. It is based upon emotions or feelings, is situational, has no boundaries, no consistency and no foundation of right or wrong. It believes that whatever a person desires, they should not be refused. It only loves those who are acceptable to them, and those who will love them in return.

Then there is God’s way, which is a moral love. It is founded upon truth, goodness, God’s holiness, divine justice and all that is right and wise. It has standards. It sometimes denies a person what they want for their own good. It does not seek its own reward but the interests of others. The Bible says of this kind of love, “[It] is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

And this type of love is not only for our family, friends, co-workers, but it is especially demonstrated toward those who are different from us and are hard to love. Difficulty in loving can come from people rejecting us, hurting us in some way or due to our differences. And there can be differences in race, personality, ethnicity, political views and religion.

And how are we to love? As we love ourselves. This communicates a self-sacrificing love for others, rather than a self-seeking one. It is a love for others that is willing to risk it all; money, time, reputation, comfort, health and our very lives, for what will best honor God and truly help others.

Jesus both taught and modeled this kind of love. He once said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) And this He did. He died and rose again on the cross to show His perfect love for all humanity.

And when His entire nation, including His closest followers rejected Him, He did not respond with revenge, hate, anger, or reject them. No. Instead He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

A prayer for you. Lord God, I pray you will help people to truly love their neighbor as themselves. Help us to love one another in truth, holiness, with forgiveness and sacrifice. And teach us to love each other for the glory of you and in genuine service for our fellow man, especially among those who are different from us and are hard to love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Has Your Church Lost Its Passion for Christ?

“Jesus comes to the complacent congregation and patiently knocks on the door seeing if anyone will invite Him in.”

Would any coach want an entire team of mediocre football players? Would any business want a whole company of uninterested employees? Would any pastor want to eagerly lead a congregation of happily complacent believers? (Photo by Ken Haines from Pixabay.)

Jesus is the Founder and Chief Shepherd of the church. In straight forward terms He condemns any of His congregations that are filled with these types of mediocre, uninterested and complacent followers. There was once a church just like this, and Jesus wrote them a letter saying, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:15-16)

Jesus used temperature language to illustrate where this church stood in relationship with Him. They did not have a cold distant relationship, nor a passionate one. They were somewhere in the middle, which Jesus forcefully called, “lukewarm.”

The church had good biblical doctrine. The congregation was morally upright. They were not lazy, but a group of doers, always getting much done in the church. Consequently, their divine rebuke did not result from their beliefs, morals or activity. Instead, it came from their attitude toward their Chief Shepherd. They acknowledged Him, talked about Him, but there was no zeal for Christ nor dependency on Him.

This is the state of so many churches today. They have wonderful buildings, faithful congregations, dependable supporters, encouraging weekly services, uplifting fellowship but something is missing. Jesus says to them what He said to the Laodicean church, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19) Like the believers in Laodicea, the church today is missing a zealousness for Christ. This is another temperature word referring to hot or boiling. There is no burning passion for Jesus. There is no boiling love for Him. Just a contented lukewarmness. And people can feel it. Amidst the teaching, friendliness and good programming, something is absent.

In love for His church, Jesus comes to its door and patiently knocks. All the while, the door remains closed to Him. Even so, He continues knocking, waiting for anyone in the church to come and welcome Him back in. And if the church refuses to reopen the door to Him, at a time He decides, He will “spit them out of His mouth.” But if they respond and turn from their lukewarmness to a renewed walk with Him, He offers a great promise of blessing upon them.

My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, take time to examine the spiritual condition of your church and your own walk with Christ. Where is the passion for Jesus? Where is the boiling love for Him? Where is the heavenly zeal? This is not about feelings, but about the bent of one’s whole life and the spiritual state of a congregation.

Listen to Jesus’ loving and persuasive words to His precious bride, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev. 3:20-22)

Hear the Spirit’s call to His church and respond. May we the church, repent of our lukewarmness and be awakened to a fresh zeal for Christ, the one who died in our place and rose again.

A prayer for you - Shepherd of the church. Search our hearts. Point out if we have strayed from you and lost our zeal. We repent of our love for the world and dependency on ourselves. We turn to you asking that you pour out upon us a renewed passion and love that burns with a raging fire, that nothing in this world can extinguish. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Are You a Phony Christian?

“If one claims to be a Christian,

the evidence will be demonstrated through loving his neighbor.”

Once while traveling internationally a young woman caught my eye in the airport. She was with an older man, who did not seem to be her husband or father. Her face looked filled with despair. Something was not right. I prayed, wondering if she was in some type of danger. As the couple was getting their luggage, the man stepped away, leaving the woman sitting alone. I felt compelled to do something, so I asked a young woman in our group to come with me. Together we went to the woman while the man was gone. I introduced ourselves and shared, “I saw you sitting there and wanted to let you know, I’m praying for you. If you need help with anything, let me know.” Then soon afterward the man came back, and the two left the airport. (Photo by Pexels from Pixabay.)

Despite some minimal risk, why did I do that? Because my walk with God urged me to. Jesus once said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) The Golden Rule is based on this, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them…” (Matt. 7:12)

What I was practicing was basic Christianity. If one claims to be a Christian, the evidence will be demonstrated through loving his neighbor. The Scripture declare, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20-21) If one says their name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life but treats some people unjustly, or deliberately turns away from helping the needs of others, their profession of faith is a lie.

How so? Because God has made all people in His image. Therefore, how we treat others is how we treat Him. So if we say we love Jesus but mistreat someone who is made in His image - we are liars.

Jesus once spoke about a future judgement all humanity will face before Him. And He predicted that He would say to some, “…as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matt. 25:40)

What does love for others look like? It is forgiving someone despite the horrible things they did, and their refusal to admit wrongdoing. It is one man treating another man with dignity although they are a different race or ethnicity. It is a husband laying down his own wants and needs in sacrificial love for his wife, and she doing the same for him. It is visiting the widow, providing a home to the orphan, caring for the sick. It is defending the weak and being a voice for the voiceless.

Do you talk of yourself being a Christian? Do you share how you prayed to receive Christ. Yet, you curse at your wife. You deceive others when it is to your advantage. You say evil things of other church members. You deliberately remain silent in the face of another’s injustice. You spend your earnings on your own wants and needs, refusing to help the needy. If this is you, then your profession of faith is nothing more than that – a profession.    

Before Jesus ever said to love our neighbor, He said this, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37-38) How can you learn to love, as God wants you to? Simple. By loving Him. When you love God with all your being, He will then transform your heart through the death and resurrection of Christ. You will then be able to love others by the power of God and for the glory of God.

A prayer for you – Lord God, help us to love our neighbors, as we love ourselves. Help us to love those who are hard to love. Bring us to put the needs of others above our own. Change our hearts to do for us, what we cannot do for ourselves. In Jesus’ name. Amen.