My people love to have it so
This week I was reading Jeremiah. In Chapter 5, the Lord speaks against his own people because 1) they do not relate correctly to him and 2) they do not take care of the poor and needy. Who is responsible for this rebellion in the sight of God?
An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? (Jeremiah 5:30-31 ESV)
It appears that God holds the prophets, the priests, and the people themselves responsible for their rebellion.
Some may say that the church today rightly relates to God – although they would probably only say that about those who agree with them. But few would suggest that the church is taking caring of the poor and needy. Who will God hold responsible for this rebellion?
Living in the change
In my previous post – “What is God doing?” – I said that God was teaching me to love people who are different than me. It is interesting that in the comments Mark mentioned actions and Mary mentioned listening. Both of these are part of what God is doing in my life – and I’m living in the change now.
For example, today I took the opportunity to be around people who are different than me – that required action. Primarily, I listened to what they had to say about what was going on in their lives.
I listened to one lady wonder if it was okay that she asked God why her two sons died while they were in their twenties. I listened to a young man ask if God was mad at him because of his tattoos. I listened to another lady wonder if God was going to heal her of cancer since she claimed his healing.
Acting and listening are a big part of how God is teaching me to love people who are different than me.
What kind of fruit?
In my previous post “Missing the message in the details?“, I mentioned that there is a common theme running through the end of the Sermon on the Mount. That theme is the importance of “fruit” or doing good deeds. In fact, that theme actually begins at the start of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus tells his listeners – and us – to let your light shine before men.
But, when Jesus is talking about good deeds, shining our light, and bearing fruit, what kind of fruit is he talking about? Can we do anything and call it “fruit”? Do we get to decide what is a good deed? Can we define “letting our light shine”?
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus points toward his own actions of healing diseases, casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, etc. as examples of good deeds. When he sends the twelve out in chapter 10, he tells them to do the same things. Is this what Jesus desires from us? Do we love others only when we are healing diseases and casting out demons?
I think, as we continue to read through Matthew’s Gospel, we’ll find something much simpler involved in doing “good deeds”. Remember the very popular passage in Matthew 25:
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40 ESV)
The actions that the King (God) desires to see in the “righteous” are simple acts that demonstrate the love of God to those who most need it: some food and drink, a place to live, clothing, and relationships.
Instead of taking this passage at face value, we usually change it to one of two extremes. While the remainder of this post probably belongs to my “Scripture… As We Live It” series, I wanted to discuss this in more detail. Consider the following “re-mix” of Matthew 25:35-36:
For I was hungry and you sent in a tax deductible donation, I was thirsty and you started a Bible study, I was a stranger and you built a new building, I was naked and you gave some clothing to the Salvation Army, I was sick and you attended a prayer meeting, I was in prison and you sent a letter to your congressman complaining about the prison system.’ (Matthew 25:35-36 re-mix)
We often spiritualize or depersonalize this Scripture. By starting or supporting “ministries” we make ourselves feel better. But, when we separate ourselves from the people who actually need the help – when we keep from showing the love of God personally – then we are not living as God would have us live. Yes, it is fine to support “ministries” – my family does this – and yes, it is fine to start Bible studies and prayer meetings – we do this as well. But, we cannot do this in place of personally giving drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned.
Another way of depersonalizing the love of God is by dealing with “social causes” instead of hurting individuals. For example, instead of giving drink to a thirsty woman, we join a cause to provide clean drinking water. Instead of giving food to a man who is hungry, we give to a relief effort to end world hunger. Instead of giving clothes to a young child who has nothing to wear, we support a local “clothes closet”. Yes, we can and we should support these “social causes”. But, we cannot support “causes” at the expense of neglecting thirsty, hungry, naked, sick, and imprisoned individuals.
What kind of fruit does God expect? I think he expects the kind of fruit that demonstrates his love on a person by person basis… the kind of fruit that touches and hugs and listens and watches and learns and helps… the kind of fruit that grows through sweat and tears and dirty hands.
God loves people. And, he wants his children to look into the eyes of other people and love them.
Beyond Charity – Our Vision
As I mentioned in my post called “Beyond Charity – Introduction“, I’m reading John Perkins’ book Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Part One of the book is called “Our Vision”, and it is divided into three chapters: “Beyond Charity”, “From Quick Fixes to Felt Needs”, and “The Marks of an Authentic Church”.
Beyond Charity
In chapter 1, Perkins exhorts Christians to move beyond a charity mentality. He says:
America’s best intentions, most sincere thoughts, noblest efforts – all of these are useless to the urban poor if they do not connect with our personally defined, deepest felt needs. In fact, acts of charity can be dangerous because givers feel good about actions that actually accomplish very little, or even create dependency. The result is that their sense of satisfaction takes away any motivation to seek more creative long-range development strategies. Overcoming an attitude of charity is a difficult task because it requires givers to demand more of themselves than good will.
“Charity” is an interesting word. Once, the word “charity” was used by Bible translators to translate the Greek word for God’s sacrificing love. The word “charity” meant demonstrating a love that was consistent and selfless; a love that originated with God, worked by the Spirit of God, and demonstrated to the glory of God.
Today, a common definition of “charity” is “a kindly and lenient attitude toward people”. Thus, today “charity” may cause you to give a few dollars, but it rarely causes you to give your life. The poor, the sick, the needy, the widows, the orphans, the foreigners don’t need a few dollars in the long run. They need someone willing to love them with the love of God.
Perkins lists several obstacles for going beyond charity to offering lasting help for “the least” among us: a charity mentality, racial polarization, a victim mentality and self-doubt, and government programs. Notice that some of these obstacles are carried out by those attempting to help, while other obstacles are caused by “the least” themselves.
Perkins concludes this chapter with his answer to overcoming these obstacles:
I believe there is only one group of people in society who can overcome these obstacles. God’s people have solutions that are qualitatively different from any other approach to the poor. The best that God’s people have to offer is relationships with the poor that reflect the kind of carefully, quality attention we have in our own families. This is the high quality relationships offered by a people seeking to “love their neighbors as they love themselves”.
I agree with Perkins. The church of God has quality relationships to offer the poor. However, I haven’t seen this very often. Instead, I see the church offering as many, if not more, quick fixes as anyone else.
From Quick Fixes to Felt Needs
Perkins argues that in order for the church to offer lasting and quality relationships with the poor, we must begin with their felt needs. These are actual needs that are pressing and oppressing the people. He offers an old Chinese poem to illustrate the felt-need concept:
Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what you know
Build on what they have;
But of the best leaders
When their task is done
The people will remark
“We have done it ourselves.”
You can see that Perkins continues to warn about the danger of building dependence on others. The poor do not need to become more dependent – unless it is becoming more dependent upon God.
While everyone’s needs are specific to the individual, Perkins says that felt-needs can be grouped into three categories: 1) the need to belong, 2) the need to be significant and important, and 3) the need for a reasonable amount of security.
He also exhorts Christians to practice “the three R’s of community development”:
- relocation – moving into a needy community so that its needs become our own needs
- reconciliation – The love and forgiveness of the gospel reconcile us to God and to each other across racial, social, and economic barriers.
- redistribution – Christ calls us to share with those in need.
The Marks of an Authentic Church
Perkins’ “marks” are quite different from marks of the church as taught by other people. I think that “the least” would most appreciate Perkins’ marks, and I think they would care less how we structure ourselves.
Perkins suggests that the church in America today is broadly divided along three different theological ideals:
- European theology – European theology was a theology of liberation for Europeans… America was to be the place where European Christians could be liberated from the oppressive European governments that suppressed their religious expression and conscience. In America, they could serve God as they pleased. But the liberation Europeans took for granted for themselves was not extended to the native Americans who were already here and whose land was taken by force, nor was it extended to Africans, who were brought here by force to work the land.
- Black theology – Africans took on our oppressor’s religion. Upon close examination, our black forefathers found that a proper reading and living of “the Book” did indeed mean liberation for everyone, including them. Because the European theology would not accommodate our liberation, we created our own form of the gospel… Like all theologies should be, it is a theology of liberation from oppression. But liberation to what? Back to Africa? To integration? Black theology has never adequately answered this questions.
- Latin American theology – As Latin American Christian leaders living among the poor looked at their world, they saw oppression in the form of colonization through military governments and dictators who dominated the countries’ resources and sold their countries’ natural wealth to the industrialized countries for their own profits. Latin American Christians who loved the poor began to see the gospel, not communism or capitalism, as the best way to liberate people from oppression… often stop[ping] short of a strong message of spiritual liberation.
What is the answer for the church today? According to Perkins, the answer is found in the gospel – not the European, Black, or Latin American gospel, but the whole gospel:
The alternative to these incomplete theologies is a theology based on God’s character of reconciliation… To reconcile people to God and then to each other is the purpose of the gospel. This is the theology that is the true work of the church… Living out the gospel means bringing good news of God’s love to people who are in need, demonstrating to them the love of Jesus and introducing them to the eternal life found only in him. When I refer to eternal life I don’t only mean the hereafter, but eternal life that beings here on earth and continues after… In short, living the gospel means desiring for your neighbor and your neighbor’s family that which you desire for yourself and your family.
According to Perkins, these are seven attributes that the Body of Christ should constantly be striving to incorporate into their existence:
The authentic church absorbs pain.
The authentic community of believers is also called to proclaim hope in a despairing world.
An authentic church should point to God’s authority.
The authentic church brings people together.
The authentic church spends lavishly on the needy.
The authentic church reflects God’s character.
The authentic community of faith protects the vulnerable.
I can see all of these descriptions of the church in the New Testament. I don’t see them very often today. In fact, I don’t see these descriptions much in my life… but that’s changing.
Church Family?
I met a very nice lady today. She’s a neighbor of a friend of mine. They both live in government subsidized housing. The lady that I met has cancer on her ear. The doctors want to do a skin graft, but she has to stop smoking first. So, she’s struggling both with cancer and with smoking.
I asked her if she had a church family. She told me that she “went to church” with a local church “when she could”. I asked her if they took care of her. She said, “I like the church very much”. I responded, “I’m glad. Are they visiting you and helping you with things around your house.” She said, “No. They never visit. But, the pastor calls me occasionally.”
Why is this kind of behavior acceptable among believers? Why do we call ourselves the church of God and not take care of one another, especially those who are hurting, lonely, and in need? Why do we call ourselves a church family and not treat one another like brothers and sisters? Are we just pretending?
Weightier Matters
As I was reading through Matthew again recently, a verse caught my attention. I’ve probably read this verse hundreds of times, but I usually breeze over it without a second thought. This time, I read it slowly a few times, and I can’t get it out of my mind:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23 ESV)
Weightier matters… justice and mercy and faithfulness. Yes, Jesus was speaking against the religious people of his day. But, I wonder if he would say the same thing to most Christians today. Perhaps he would even say that same thing against me.
Beyond Charity – Introduction
A few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend about our desire to reach out to and love some of “the least” in our area. He recommended a book by John M. Perkins called Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Since our library had withdrawn this book from their shelves – an action that neither one of us understands – he sent me his copy of the book. I’ve read the first three chapters, and already I appreciate how Perkins is putting words to many of the things that I’m sensing from Scripture, and he’s helping me to understand the background of the plight of the urban poor.
In the introduction of his book, Perkins explores the birth and growth of the urban ghettos, explains his own spiritual journey, and documents the work that he, his family and friends, and others are doing to bring reconciliation to the poor, urban centers of the United States.
I love the way that Perkins begins to describe his “struggle with racism and poverty”:
My struggle began one Sunday morning in 1957 at a little Holiness Mission in Pasadena, California, when I discovered that God loved me. I had grown up in Mississippi without a mother or a father. I grew up without the certainty of love. That morning all the longing of my heart came together when I heard that God loved me, that God had sent his Son into the world to die for my sake. That morning, the best that I knew how, in the midst of all my feelings of inferiority, in spite of the fact that I was a third-grade dropout, at the age of twenty-seven I reached out to God. It seemed that this was the morning that I had been born for. I felt what I had missed all of my life: I was loved by a holy God. I felt great joy mixed with sadness and guilt. I could not stop weeping, for I was overwhelmed by my foolishness and sinfulness. I saw that my sin was like spitting in the face of this God who loved me even now in spite of my sin. I felt that I had been rejecting him for twenty-seven years. And yet I was overjoyed at the experience of God’s love for me. The experience of this joy has stayed with me.
I’m glad that Perkins began his story about his own “struggle with racism and poverty” by describing how he came to know the love of God. Our love of others flows from our love of God, which originates with God’s love for us. Perkins’ struggle continued…
Over the last thirty-five years, the struggle has been to reconcile what happened to me there, the experience of God’s love, with living in the world. The struggle has been to show to my neighbor the reconciling love I found at conversion, when out in the world I found bigotry and hatred – even from Christians – because I was black. At every key point, at every crucial moment, I have been surrounded by Christians who loved me so that I felt that reconciling love…
The first time I went [to a Bible study], I looked around me and saw that everyone there was white except for me. I had never, ever, seen white folks and black folks together in church in Mississippi, so I was afraid I might get turned away; but my desire to know the Bible was too strong for me to leave.
I went to the back of the room and listened to the Bible lesson from there. By the end of the lesson, I knew I wanted to keep coming to this class. I knew I wanted to learn what this teacher had to teach me, but I was afraid that I would not be wanted, because I was black. I waited until most of the other men had left, and then I went up to the teacher. I reached out to shake his hand, but he didn’t shake my hand – he put his arm around my shoulder. I felt the reconciling love of God. I felt that he wanted me there.
Perkins goes on to describe how the church must stop handing out charity to the poor out of guilt. Instead, believers must live with the poor and help them through the love of God. If our actions make us feel better about ourselves, then we are giving charity out of guilt. If our actions cause us to love and spend even more time with the people, then we know we are demonstrating the love of God.
Although this book was written in 1993 (not long after the LA riots), believers today can learn alot from Perkins about living with and helping “the least” – and in so doing demonstrating our love for God (Matt 25:40). This is how Perkins closes his introduction:
It has been said over and over again that the government has tried to solve the problems of the inner city and has failed. Yes, the government has failed when it comes to the poor. Our nation’s cities are in a crisis. But in every crisis there is opportunity. I believe that this crisis is an opportunity for us, the church, to step forward and lead the way in restoring the inner city by bringing the physical presence of God into the city. I believe that the church has the opportunity to pioneer and model a way of life whereby our nation itself can experience a new birth. One of the reasons that I love this country is because of its commitment to freedom. That freedom gives us, the church – the people of God – the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the world a more excellent way…
It is time for the church, yes, the whole church, to take a whole gospel on a whole mission to the whole world. It is time for us to exhibit by our very lives that we believe in the oneness of the Body of Christ. It is time for us to prove that the purpose of the gospel is to reconcile alienated people to God and to each other, across racial, cultural, social, and economic barriers. It is time for the reconciling love of God that has touched each individual heart to spill over into love for our neighbor.
I’ve asked God to let his love spill out of me and into love for my neighbor. I’m looking forward to reading and sharing more of this book with you.
Studying How Jesus Loved
On Sunday mornings, we’ve been studying through the Gospel of Matthew. We’re working toward the end of chapter 7, which means we’ve almost finished the Sermon on the Mount. Last week, as I continued reading through Matthew, I noticed how Jesus demonstrated his love for people. I decided to study Jesus’ love in the Gospel of Matthew.
Of course, you can’t start a study of Jesus’ love in the Gospel of Matthew without mentioning the Great Commandment:
And one of them [the Pharisees], a lawyer, asked him [Jesus] a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God 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. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40 ESV)
Apparently, love is very important to Jesus. He said that the Law and the Prophets (probably a reference to the Hebrew Scriptures) depend upon both loving God and loving others. How did Jesus demonstrate that love? How did he model love for us?
Certainly, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us both to love our brothers and sisters (Matt 5:21-26), and also to love our enemies (Matt 5:43-47). But, Jesus did much more than teach us to love with his words. He showed us what it meant to love.
Jesus cared for those who were hurting – either with physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual pains (for example, Matt 4:23-25, 8:2-3, 8:5-13, 8:14-15, 8:16 – not that these are only a few examples that surround the Sermon on the Mount). Jesus demonstrated his love by spending time with people – both with those who followed him closely, and with those who did not follow him closely. While we may notice that Jesus often had the harshest words for those who considered themselves the most religious, we should also recognize that Jesus continued to allow them to ask him questions. He did not give up on them.
Jesus spent time with people in their homes. He spent time in Peter’s home. He also spent time in Matthew’s home along with Matthew’s friends who the religious people labelled as “tax collectors and sinners” – those who were not worthy of being loved.
Perhaps one of the clearest images of Jesus’ love in Matthew (apart from the Passion narratives) occurs in chapter 18. In that chapter, Jesus teaches about kingdom in terms of love, mercy, and forgiveness. Specifically, he compares himself to a shepherd who will go out into the wilderness in order to find one lost sheep.
We know that Jesus desired for his followers to imitate his love – by the power of the Spirit, of course. When Jesus told his followers to pray for harvest workers in Chapter 9, he then immediately sent them out in Chapter 10. What did he tell them to do?
And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (Matthew 10:7-8 ESV)
As the apostles proclaimed the kingdom of God in word, they were also supposed to demonstrate the love of God in actions.
Then, of course, we cannot forget the Passion. Paul tells us that through his death, Jesus revealed the love of God and demonstrated to us how to love one another:
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)
In light of Christ’s death, we should also remember that we have been called to take up our cross as well (Matt 10:38, 16:24). While taking up our cross and following Jesus is not limited to demonstrating God’s love to others, it certainly includes demonstrating God’s love.
This was a very interesting study for me. I enjoyed learning about how Jesus demonstrated his love for people in the Gospel of Matthew.
To be honest though, this was a difficult study – not because of the material, but because of the interruption. People kept emailing, calling, and stopping by the house to tell me about their problems. Some people were sick; some had friends or family in the hospital. One guy was having trouble dealing with his children. Another woman was struggling in her relationship with her husband. It seems like every time I really focused on the love of Jesus, someone would interrupt my studies. I can understand now why so many pastors and scholars like to have office hours where they won’t be disturbed as often. I mean, how am I supposed to learn about Jesus’ love when all of these people keep interrupting me?
Faces, Names, Lives
Over the last week or so, God has given me the opportunity to meet a few people who are very different from me – and different in various ways. Since I’ve met them, God has kept their faces, names, and lives in my mind as I’ve continue to pray for them and to wonder if and how God is going to continue winding our lives together. Its interesting, because until about a week ago I didn’t know these people… but now I think about them all them time. I think I’m learning more about love.
Tina – She is a friend of a friend of ours. We’ve talked to her a couple of times, but last Saturday I had a chance to talk to her more at the home of our mutual friend. She has emphysema and was recently treated for cancer. She is constantly on oxygen. She’s trying to stop smoking. She’s living a very difficult life. She says that she needs friends – people she can talk to when she’s struggling. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who appreciated someone praying for her as much as Tina.
Mrs. Fort – We actually met her briefly about two weeks ago, but we had a chance to talk to her more last Saturday. She has arthritis, and it bothers her when the weather changes. Last Saturday she told us that she thought it might rain because her knee hurt. She introduced a couple of her granddaughters and one of her great-granddaughters. I could tell that she was very proud of them. I think my wife remembers her the most, especially the way that she looked when she introduced the girls.
Emanuel – At first he thought we were trying to sell him something, and he wasn’t interested. When he found out that we wanted to give him some fresh vegetables and fruit with no strings attached he was a little more interested. He also wasn’t too interested in talking to us until I asked him about his scooter parked just outside his duplex. He loves his scooter and is very proud of it. He also loves vegetables. It is amazing what people will tell you when they’re talking about something that they care about, instead of trying to force them to talk about something that I care about.
Mrs. Jenny – She was sitting in a motorized chair when I met her last Monday. My friend was reading the Bible. She leaned over to me and said, “I’m not an atheist, but all this religion stuff is new to me. I really only started coming because of him”. She pointed to the three year old son of my friends… the little boy who was going from person to person talking to them, giving them hugs… loving on people who were not usually loved on. This simple expression of love by a three year old attracted her to hear what my friend was reading from the Bible. Her hearing is bad, so she couldn’t hear all of the words he was reading. But, she could see the love he was living very clearly.
These four people are all different from me and each other in various aspects: social status, age, race, economic status, physical abilities, etc. But, all of us are alike in the way that matters most: God loves us and desires to be reconciled to us.
Missional without the label
Last fall, some good friends of ours decided to start spending time in a local nursing home. This wasn’t a “church program” or a “ministry”, but a desire on their part to spend time with “the least” in order to demonstrate God’s love. They talked to the administration at the nursing home, completed the forms and classes and tests necessary to spend time with the residents, and started going to the nursing home one morning each week. They all went – the husband, wife, and their children, even their 3 year old.
They invited me to go with them, and I wanted to go. But, I couldn’t go because of scheduling – work, teaching, and school scheduling. However, since its summer, I’m only working, so I was able to adjust my work schedule to spend time with them in the nursing home.
I arrived at the same time my friends arrived, and I walked into a common room with them. There were already fifteen or so residents sitting in a circle – some in wheelchairs, some in chairs, some on sofas – waiting for them to arrive. My friends started greeting the residents, and I could tell right away that this was more than a “program” to them. They genuinely love these elderly men and women. Some of the residents greeted them with smiles and hugs and words expressing their gratitude for coming. Other residents nodded or moaned, but were unable to communicate more than that. Some residents seemed completely unresponsive. But, my friends made their way around to each person, holding their hand, speaking a kind word to them, showing them the love of Christ, even if the person could not respond.
Eventually, a few of my friends headed down the halls of the nursing home to the rooms of some of the residents that they knew well. A few minutes later they returned walking with or pushing someone who had forgotten that they were coming, or had been unable to come on their own. Soon, there were twenty or more residents chatting with my friends.
My friend reminded the residents that they had been reading through the Gospel of Matthew together. He opened his Bible and, he and his children started reading from chapter 25 – each one taking turns. They read two chapters, not just a few verses. I knew that some of the residents could not hear what was being read. I knew that some of the residents could hear but could not process or remember what was being read. But, they knew that my friends were there because they cared for them deeply.
Call it coincidence – or call it divine providence – but the chapters that my friends read that morning included this passage:
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:32-40 ESV)
I couldn’t help but noticed that I was seeing this passage lived out in front of me at that very moment. My friends were loving “the least” – people who could not return their love except in a touch or a hug or a kind word, if that. But, my friends love them any. They were not looking for a response from this sweet men and women. My friends were the ones responding – they were responding to the awesome grace and love and mercy and forgiveness that God had poured out on them.
After they read two chapters from the Gospel of Matthew, my friends asked the men and women if they would like to sing. Several of them called out the names of popular hymns and we all sang. After we sang, my friends once again made their way around to each person, greeting them again and speaking to them individually.
My friends do not read my blog. They probably do not know about the term “missional”. They probably do not know about the discussion that surrounds the meaning of the word “missional” today. But, they don’t care. They do not lavish their love on these precious people so that they can claim the label “missional”. Instead, they love because they were first loved. They love because God’s Spirit is producing love within them.