Living the Love of God
This post is part of a “Missional Synchroblog” organized by Jonathan from “Missio Dei“. Jonathan has proposed that we each publish one post per month over the next four month concerning four different topics: 1) What does missional living look like to me? 2) What attracts me to missional? 3) Where is God calling me into mission? and 4) My best missional story. Since this is the first month of the synchroblog, the topic is “What does missional living look like to me?”
A friend of mine moved into a new neighborhood almost two years ago. He bought a house that was in need of many repairs, and, in fact, he’s still working on the house now. In less than two years, he has met most of his neighbors, inviting them to dinner at his house. He has started friendships with several neighbors, some of whom are Christians and some of whom are atheists. Although he doesn’t necessarily enjoy fishing, he has been fishing with one neighbor a few times. He has also helped several of his neighbors work on their houses. Spending all of this time with his neighbors has meant that the work on his house has taken alot longer than expected. But, he thinks that spending time with his neighbors is important.
Another friend moved from the United States to another country a few years ago. She spends most of her time with local college students teaching them English. Some students come for one or two lessons, other students come back several times. One or two students have been attending her English classes for over a year. She is building relationships with these students as she is able, even inviting them into her home and spending time in their homes. It is very difficult for her to live in a strange culture, to learn a new language, to break old habits, to leave behind family and friends and comforts and familiar things. But, she thinks that it is important for her to travel around the world and spend time with these college students.
Another friend and his family spend their Saturday mornings at the community center of a local government housing project. For the most part, they spend hours playing with boys and girls. They play on the playground equipment, ride boys and girls on their shoulders, play football with the older children, and even provide lunch. They have spent so much time with the boys and girls that they have gotten to know many of them – and some of the stories will break your heart… stories of broken families, abuse, neglect, missing parents, drugs, alcohol, prostitution. But, they think it is important to insert their lives into the broken lives of these boys and girls.
Another friend spends much of her time helping people with nutritional, health, and lifestyle issues. She spends hours every week talking to people, praying with them, encouraging them, and helping them recognize the importance of living a healthy life. She shows them alternatives to over-medicating and teaches them how to thrive in spite of constant pain. Although it is stressful to deal with hurting people all of the time, and although she doesn’t get paid for these services, she feels that it is important for her help people live physically and spiritually healthy lives.
Another friend and his family have “adopted” a couple of people who are struggling both physically and financially. Several times this family has found money, or furniture, or food that someone needs. They have given people rides to the hospital or the doctor’s office, even if the trip lasts several hours. This family takes care of people together, with the entire family getting involved. Perhaps some would think that this type of service would take too much away from “family time”, but they think that it is important for them to care for those who need help.
There are many other friends that I could mention – brothers and sisters who consider it important to give up something of their own lives in order to serve others – both those who are part of God’s family and those who are not in God’s family. I could mention the brother and sister who moved their family to an urban area to demonstrate God’s love in a desparate situation. I could mention a brother who gives up nights and weekends to work on people’s cars without charge. I could mention many brothers and sisters who cook dinners for those who have been sick or need a break for other reasons.
Which of my friends are living missionally? I think all of them are. They are living the love of God as he has provided opportunity and means and passion. And, they are all inserting their lives into the lives of other people. Their lives have been changed by God through the good news of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and they desire to demonstrate God’s love and proclaim that same good news to others in tangible ways.
There are dangers in describing the lives of some of my friends in the way that I have above. First, I definitely left out some people and some examples. God has surrounded me with many, many friends who are attempting to live the love of God in their lives. I could not mention all of them. Second, it is possible that someone could read my description of their own life and become proud. Knowing the people that I described above, that will probably not happen. Most will be embarrassed that I mentioned them, saying that they are not doing anything special. Third, there is a danger that someone will read my descriptions above and assume that those are the only ways that God works through his people into the lives of others. I would like to finish this article on this point.
Missional living means living the love of God in a way that impacts other people. As Paul said, we have been reconciled to God, and we are now to serve others with the goal of seeing them reconciled as well. This reconciliation affects all aspects of our lives, beginning with our relationship with God, but also affecting our relationship with other people.
However, the common grace of God and our common reconciliation with God does not mean that we all serve others in the same way. God has gifted us differently. He has given us different talents. We all have different opportunities. God has given us different passions and interests. Thus, we will serve others in different ways. There is a danger, especially among leaders, in thinking that every Christian will serve in the same way that I (or the leader) serves. This is not the way that God works.
Thus, missional living will look different for different people. However, in all instances, a life that mirrors the mission of God will love the love of God in the lives of others in order to reconcile them to God and to one another. This is what missional living looks like to me.
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This blog post is part of the “Missional Synchroblog” dealing with the question, “What does missional living look like to me?” If you would like to read other posts about this same topic, click the links below:
Jonathan Brink – Meeting God Where He’s Already Working
Ben Wheatley – Are Things You Are Living For Worth It
Blake Huggins – What Does Missional Living Look Like
Alan Knox – Living the love of God
Dave DeVries – The Missional Challenge
Bryan Riley – What Does Missional Living Look Like To Me
Tim Jones – Living Like the Word Says
Jeromy Johnson – What is Missional Living to Me?
Dave Wierzbicki – We are Missioning
Nathan Gann – Inevitability?
Evil persons and enemies…
Tomorrow, God willing, I will be teaching from Matthew 5:38-48, part of the Sermon on the Mount, and the last section that deals with issues of “the law”.
As I’ve been studying this passage for the last few weeks, I keep asking myself these questions: “To me, who are evil persons and who are enemies?” The way that I answer these questions will necessarily impact the way that I interpret Matthew 5:38-48:
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48 ESV)
So, as I continue to think about these questions, I pose them to you: “To you, who are evil persons and who are enemies?” Then, to follow up, “How are you responding to evil persons in your life, and how are you demonstrating love for your enemies?”
Thinking about Injustice
A very familiar passage is found in Micah:
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 ESV)
Since I’m planning to participate in two upcoming synchroblogs that deal with justice, I’ve been thinking about justice and injustice. A conversation that I had last weekend triggered even more thoughts about injustice.
A friend of mine is a vegetarian. Every time the topic is brought up, she would say that she would love to explain why she is a vegetarian sometime, but the time never came up… until this weekend. She explained that she was a vegetarian because of her concerns about injustice – particularly, concerns about the treatment of animals. She made it clear that this was something that she wast struggling with herself, and she was not making a blanket statement that eating meat was bad. In fact, she said that once she had settled the issue in her mind, and once she was convinced that she was consciously thinking about the source of the meat, she would probably begin eating meat again. However, for now, she has decided not to eat meat so that she would not perpetuate any animal cruelty that may be involved.
Recently, I had a conversation with another friend who is very concerned about human trafficking. She is helping to start a student group on campus whose goal is to educate people about trafficking around the world. Again, I have been affected by her passion to reduce injustice.
I appreciate their concerns about injustice, which has helped me further my own thinking about injustice. We know that there is injustice in the world. And, we know that many times oppression, forced labor, child labor, etc. is used to produce many of the products that we use from day to day. To be honest, I am not ready to give up those products, but my friend’s decision to give up meat has caused me to begin thinking through many buying decisions. I am beginning to recognize more and more that the products that I choose to buy or not buy may tend to perpetuate injustice or perhaps even encourage justice. Previously, most of my buying decision have been based on economics. I would buy the most economical product.
I was raised with the Republican-Christian mindset that economics and religion should be connected. Certainly, there is a grain of truth in that statement. My relationship with God will affect the way that I use money. However, my relationship with God is not necessarily connected to a positive or negative national economy, nor to my own accumulation of wealth. It seems that for many – and I would include myself in this group, though perhaps this is changing – the accumulation of personal and national wealth has become a spiritual gauge.
On the other hand, my relationship with God should definitely affect my relationship with other people and the way that I view people. God’s love cannot coexist with the unjust treatment of people. Thus, as God expresses his love more and more through me, I should expect to become more and more concerned with justice and injustice. I wish that I could say that I currently “do justice” in all of my decisions and actions. But, I can’t say that. However, I continue to see God moving my heart in that direction.
An Alabamian and MLK Jr
Yesterday, April 4, was the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought about writing something related to Dr. King, but I recognize that my understanding of him is clouded by my upbringing (raised in Alabama) and my recent education in church history (Southern Baptist church history).
Imagine my surprise when I found another Alabamian had written an excellent piece about Martin Luther King, Jr. and had expressed some of the same reservations about writing that I felt. Alan Cross at “Downshore Drift” has written an article called “40 Years Later… The Tarnished Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Among Southern Whites“.
Alan began his article where I would have had to begin my article – with what he had been taught:
Basically, I heard everything bad about him and almost nothing good. I was a little amazed at how much my elders knew about Martin Luther King from a negative perspective. I silently wondered why the rest of America didn’t how much was wrong with him. I recall watching one episode of the Cosby Show as a child when they remembered Dr. King and the March on Washington in 1963. They played his I Have a Dream Speech and sat around talking about how wonderful those days were. I was confused. What was so great about this man? Wasn’t he just trying to get hand-outs for blacks? Didn’t they have enough? That is what I had been told. I thank God that I never really incorporated those views into my own heart, but I still had to work through them with questions and investigation of my own. Children believe what they are told, or at least they have to work through it.
While admitting that he does not agree with all of King’s theology, he also now recognizes the benefit of King’s service and the blindness of the White Southern Church at that time.
I now have a VERY different view of Martin Luther King, Jr. than the one I was given growing up. I also see our past differently and recognize that “the good old days” of the 1950’s that we talk about so much were not very good at all. How could they be when we supported injustice on the level that we did, either through outright support or through silence? I recognize that that was a simpler time and there was much good during those days, but a whitewashed view of our history does not profit any of us.
I am a white Southern Baptist and I recognize that Dr. King will never be considered “one of us.” We admire him from afar because we now admit that what he did was right. We now admit that we were dreadfully wrong on racial issues and it is just idiotic to not say that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great man. But, as I think about him and the other ministers who stood up against oppression during that time, I am greatly affected by their courage. I look at my own heritage and see that we were on the wrong side of history and we opposed God. I do believe that Dr. King was wrong on some of his theology, but it is hard for me to blame him. If I were a black minister in the South during that day and the proponents of conservative theology were also the proponents of racism and Jim Crow, then I probably would have gone looking elsewhere for a theology that helped set my people free. Dr. King never completely left his conservative roots, however, and continued to believe that man was sinful and needed a Savior, namely Jesus Christ. He just also believed that all people should experience justice and equality under the law. He spoke straight to the heart of our Christian heritage and called us to be true to who we really were as a Nation. He called us to be true to our God.
Alan then wonders how America would be different today if the White Southern Church had stood against injustice to blacks instead of standing firm and violently in order to maintain their “Southern Way of Life”.
You should read all of Alan’s article. It is very thought-provoking.
I wonder, what are the issues of injustice today? Is the church actively working to relieve oppression in those areas of injustice? Or, is the church turning a blind eye and doing nothing about the injustice? Or, is the church working working to maintain “the American Way of Life” and actually working to continue injustice?
Relay for Life
Our family is participating in the local Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Several of our family members and friends have been affected by cancer, and we feel this is a way to demonstrate the love of God to others and to help the “sick” as in Matthew 25:34-40.
My wife, Margaret, wanted to take part in the Relay this year (she has taken part in past years) and even volunteered to be our team captain. Our children are also very excited about this opportunity, mainly because they can take an active part in helping alot of people.
So, if you would like to read more about Relay for Life, or if you would like to help us raise money to help cancer survivors and the families of those who lost their fight with cancer, please visit our family blog “The Knox Clan” and the post “Relay for Life“.
Thank you for supporting us as we try to serve others in and through our community.
My PhD Mentor
People often ask me why I decided to study for a PhD at SEBTS. There are many answers to that question. But one important factor regarding my decision to remain at Southeastern is my PhD mentor – my doktorvater. I was given some good advice about a year before I started my PhD studies. Someone told me to think about different schools and programs, but to also remember that your mentor will play a large role in your studies. Therefore, I was advised, pick a mentor whom you respect, with whom you can work, and who will be a good model.
My PhD mentor, Dave Black, fits that advice precisely – not merely in his academic work and his teaching, but also in his life. He constantly challenges me to live the new life that Christ has created within me. Consider this gem which he posted on his blog on Wednesday, March 12, at 5:44 pm:
In recent days I have been relating the intimate story of a pastor’s wife in Ethiopia. The scene is Addis Ababa, but it could be any city in the world. It is a case where one believer saw a need and did what she could – as a “layperson†– to help. I am absolutely convinced that had not Becky been an aggressive medical advocate for sister Aberesh, baby Nathan would be no more. Why go to so much trouble? The answer is found, I think, in the little letter of Philemon, which we studied today in New Testament class. Here Paul does something very simple, so simple in fact that it is easy to miss. He calls upon Philemon to act as a Christian. When we were worth nothing, God gave us everything. This is how God acts toward us, and we in turn are called upon to take that same attitude and exhibit it toward all men, even our enemies. The mark of a true believer, writes Paul to Philemon, is that his actions toward his fellow men are governed by the love of God poured out into his heart by the Holy Spirit. God has given every believer a new nature, one characterized by giving rather than getting, by love rather than hate, by selflessness rather than selfishness, by forgiveness rather than bitterness. Since this is true of all believers everywhere, it should be natural and normal for us to want to help each other. The family of God to which we belong includes all Christians of all ages, all levels of intelligence, all levels of social strata, all nationalities. We are all “fellow citizens with the saints,†and therefore we are called upon to demonstrate the reality of our oneness in Christ in tangible ways. “Bear one another’s burdens,†says Paul. “Place your shoulder beneath the burdens under which a fellow believer is groaning, whatever those burdens may be!” The reality of our unity in Christ makes inevitable and inescapable demands on us regardless of race, color, age, denomination, nationality, or political affiliation. Yet individualism has shattered our churches and our communities. How can I give up my job, my health, my ease, my family for the sake of others? Our oneness is organizational, occasional, and spasmodic. If any unity appears it tends toward the back-slapping variety of the country club. Paul was eager to remind Philemon that the church is nothing less than a community of love: Christ-in-me loving Christ-in-you. And for this love to be real it must issue forth in forgiving one another’s sins, bearing one another’s burdens, washing our brother’s feet, caring for our neighbor’s children, helping in the tiny incidents of everyday and the great emergencies of life. A heavy responsibility, then, lies on our shoulders.
The church today must deliberately move toward this type of Christianity. But only Christ can produce it. The danger of dwelling too long on “our†service is that we soon begin to speak as if we had done it by ourselves. We can be sure that we contributed nothing in comparison to what Christ has done for us. It is His wonderful and mysterious love that is at work in and through us. How much reason, then, to pray that God will turn our hearts to Him and set us free by His love to serve others.
As the drought makes me wish for rain, the clouds for the sun, the storms for the gentle winds, so my heart yearns for Thee, my Lord and my God!
And, this thought-provoking excerpt from his blog post on Thursday, March 13, at 8:20 am:
The genius of the Protestant Reformation lay in its struggle with the problem of justification in all its aspects. For the greatest question of life is the conversion of man and his reconciliation to God in Christ. But Protestantism, once it answered this question biblically, failed to press on to treat Christianity in its most radical form — the form presented in the New Testament. The Protestant teaching on justification, in emphasizing truth, sometimes leads to a neglect of the new life, life in the Spirit, life in Christ, life as Christ’s body. Koinonia takes on a superficial and rather suburban goodness — moral platitudes, covered dish fellowships, an occasional “mission trip” to the local nursing home or to a nearby state. The Christian life has become merely a fidelity to ethical prescriptions or participation in the multitudinous programs in our churches. There is little real sacrifice about it. Witnessing becomes a trite tract or a bumper sticker. Heb. 10:24 is cited to drive people back into church but not to encourage them to “provoke one another to love and good works.” Passive spectatorism becomes par for the course.
It is to the credit of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s (of which I was a part) and perhaps of the modern emerging church movement (of which I am not a part) that both sought to expose this hideous problem for all to see. There is a new generation and a new spirit at work today, and perhaps it will turn out to be the catalyst that will bring on our transformation from churchianity to a Christianity that is dedicated to the forceful living out of the life of Jesus in this world.
This is the kind of encouragement and admonishment that I – and all other believers – need! Plus, his teaching extends beyond the classroom, as he lives his life as an example for others, opening his home to visitors and spending his own time and money to serve our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. This is a very important distinction, because it is easy to think that scholarship is discipleship or that academic work is service.
If you are considering PhD work, I pray that God would provide a challenging, godly mentor for you as well.
Love your neighbor again…
Jonathan at “Missio Dei” has written another excellent post called “Love Your Neighbor“. In the post, he recalls a conversation in which someone was struggling with the enormous number of issues that affect us and the world around us every day. Jonathan says:
[T]he temptation is to want to solve…every problem. Things press on us. They shout at our face…NOTICE ME. It’s hard not to want to notice, to give real issues our time and attention. I’ve often thought of throwing it all to the wind and serving as a missionary in a war torn country. I’ve actually looked into work for NGO’s and positions at the UN. But ultimately I didn’t feel called.
And as I stood there listening to my friend, I began to wonder if Jesus was somehow taking a weight from us when he said, “Love your neighbor.†What if we needed the reminder that we’re not called to solve every problem. We can’t. He’s simply asking us to love right where we’re at, to bring love to those we are already in relationship with. These are the people we are most likely to bring restoration to. These are the people we are most likely to touch in a significant way.
What if we’re not called to solve all the worlds problems? Just the ones that we’re called to. And they live right next door.
I can’t end world hunger. But, I can provide food for a neighbor who is in need. I can’t free the oppressed of the world. But, I can help a neighbor who is struggling to find a job or start over after a difficult situation. I can’t solve all of the world’s problems. But, I can listen to and care for the neighbor who is struggling, discouraged, depressed, or lonely.
But, in order to love my neighbor, I must know my neighbor.
Stumbling Blocks
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to some students regarding Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Particularly, we focused on the last few chapters of the Epistle. Part of that conversation concerned “stumbling blocks”:
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. (Romans 14:13-16 ESV)
In these last few chapters, Paul continually tells the Romans to humble themselves, love, serve, accept, and greet brothers and sisters with whom they disagree. Specifically, he lists two “stumbling blocks” to the type of fellowship that the Spirit creates within the lives of God’s children: 1) holding one day as more important than another (Rom. 14:5-6) and 2) eating meat sacrificed to idols (Rom. 14:20-21).
Some may suggest that Paul wanted believers to fellowship in spite of their different beliefs in these two areas because these two items are not as important as our differences today. Today, we hold many different positions: Calvinism vs. Arminianism, infant baptism vs. believers’ baptism, cessationism vs. continuationism, and a plethora of eschatological beliefs. Certainly, these differences are much greater than days and food, right? It is right for us to dis-fellowship ourselves from those who hold to different views than us, right?
In fact, I think the two different views in Romans (days and food) should help illustrate how important continued fellowship is in spite of differences. For example, consider the first difference: holding one day as more important than another. In Rome, during the 1st century, which group of people would have held that one day was more important than other days? The Jews. Why would they hold that belief? Because Scripture is clear that God created the Sabbath to be honored. In other words, those who hold that one day is more important can back up their assertion with Scripture. Certainly, if someone disagreed with their claims, they were disagreeing with the clear teachings of Scripture.
Which group of people would have held that all days have equal importance? The Gentiles. They could also back up their beliefs with Scripture. Again, anyone attempting to hold one day as more important than the others would be disagreeing with the clear doctrine of Scripture. Even Jesus worked and healed on the Sabbath! Plus, Jesus rose on Sunday, given more importance to that day, if any day. However, Paul said that these two groups should accept one another and should not be “stumbling blocks” to the other. Yes, they should hold to their beliefs, but they should not let their beliefs keep them from serving, loving, accepting, and greeting those with other beliefs. Why? Because they were all part of the same family in God through Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Consider the second illustration that Paul uses: eating meat sacrificed to idols. Who would consider it problematic to eat meat sacrificed to idols? Those who associated eating this meat with worshiping a false god. Eating and drinking was part of the rituals associated with showing allegiance to and deference to and respect to and worship to that particular god. Scripture clearly teaching that we should worship no god besides the One True God. Why would anyone argue with this assertion, which is so clearly displayed in Scripture?
But, of course, the other side would argue that there are no other gods. In fact, only one God exists. So, eating and drinking – even food and drink that had been used in some pagan ritual – has nothing to do with deity. God himself declared that all food and drink are clean and that eating and drinking do not make a person unclean. This is very clear in Scripture. Yet, in spite of the fact that both groups could easily defend their positions in Scripture, Paul expected them to serve, love, accept, and greet one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Yes, they should hold to their beliefs that their conscience requires, but they should not allow these beliefs to separate them from other believers and they should not allow these different beliefs to become “stumbling blocks” to other believers.
I hope you see that these two points were no less significant then than our differences are today. Both sides have biblical arguments for their positions, and they could easily use those arguments to beat sense into the other sides – those heretics who refuse to see the clear meaning of Scripture. But, Paul encouraged them not to do so. I think he would say the same to those who hold differing views of soteriology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, eschatology, or any other -ology.
To Paul, what was important was being a child of God, through Jesus Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, he expected our relationship with God to demonstrate itself through our relationships with one another and with the world around us. According to Paul and other authors of Scripture, we do not questions a person’s relationship with God primarily by what they say they belief, but by how they live their life. (Yes, I know there are some beliefs that are given as reason for separation, like believing that Jesus is not the son of God or believing that Jesus did not come in the flesh. But, there are very few of these given in Scripture.)
Today, if Paul were to examine how we treat other believers who differ from us in the areas of soteriology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, eschatology, etc., I wonder if he would be concerned with our relationship with God. He would not be concerned because of what we say we believe. Instead, he would be concerned about how we are treating our brothers and sisters in Christ. He would be concerned that no one was willing to defer to a “weaker brother”. He would be concerned that we are not humbling ourselves before, serving, loving, accepting, and greeting one another because of these differences. He would be concerned that we are living as “stumbling blocks”.
The first eleven chapters of Paul’s Letter to the Romans contain important lessons on sin, grace, righteousness, sovereignty, faith, etc. Through these chapters we see the awesome majesty of God and his work in the world and his people. But, we should not think that we can separate these great truths about God from living the life that God is creating with us – especially when it comes to our relationships with other believers. If we are not demonstrating love and grace in our relationship with our brothers and sisters – if we are living as “stumbling blocks” – then we are not thinking right about God, whatever we profess to believe.
Human Called to Love
I’ve mentioned before that God is working in my life in the area of serving the poor. Earlier this week I read two blog posts dealing with this issue from different but complimentary perspectives.
First, consider what Brandon (from “Eleutheros“) says about serving the homeless in a post called “Getting out“:
Yesterday for house church (our youth ministry does house church every other Sunday evening) we took 25 11th grade students to Woodruff park in downtown Atlanta. We had everyone bring two sack lunches and we had some candy to give out too. The students would go in groups of 3 and find a homeless person to share a meal with. Basically they just asked them if they were hungry and then asked if they could eat a meal with them. The responses of both the students and those they spent time with were great.
The students found out that many of these people were just that…people. They had differing reasons for their situations but they all had a story. The homeless were really surprised that they didn’t just want to give them food, but that the students wanted to talk to them, share a meal with them and pray with them. It was a great trip and we’ll be going back on a more regular basis.
As I’ve previously mentioned on my blog, God is changing my heart when it comes to serving and loving the homeless. I have not taken the steps to search for the homeless as Brandon has, so his post is very encouraging to me.
Next, consider what Jonathan (from “Missio Dei“) says in his post called “Love in the Burbs“:
And our first response is typically the idea of participating in some organization that feeds the homeless, or serve at a soup kitchen. These established ministries are needed, wanted, and serve to transform my own heart as much as they reach those who are homeless. And when we think of the poor, the first thing that typically, but not always, comes to mind is the idea of financial poverty. But is poverty deeper than that?
I live in the burbs. I live in a upper, middle class community in the suburbs of Sacramento. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where my Father has me at the moment… [Jonathan discusses going to another area of town to serve people.] But loving our neighbor next door, when every time he looks at us with an angry stare, is another matter. Our neighbor isn’t likely to leave tomorrow, meaning we have to love over a long period of time. Our flaws are likely to show and then we’re no longer the hero. We’re simply human called to love.
Jonathan’s post describes where I am today. God has placed our family in a suburban neighborhood, and it is our responsibility to be salt and light in that neighborhood. Like Jonathan said, suburbanite are just as poor as their homeless counterparts, but the poverty is hidden by the stuff with which they tend to fill their lives.
So, who is correct? Is Brandon correct that we need to leave our neighborhood in order to serve and love the homeless? Is Jonathan correct that we should stay in our neighborhoods in order to serve and love our neighbors? The answer is “Yes” to both questions! We are to serve those near us and those far away as God gives us opportunity.
These two examples demonstrate the importance of listening to different voices. God gifts people differently and he gives people different passions. If we only listen to those who are gifted similarly to us and passionate about the same things as us, then our lives will become stilted and out of focus. We need to listen to one another.
Finally, I want to conclude this blog post by pointing back to something that Jonathan said in his post. We are “Human called to love”. We are called to love everyone that we come in contact with, whether this is the neighbor across the street or the homeless across town or the grocer or the doctor or the landlord or the governmental official. We are called to love everyone, especially those who seem the hardest to love. In fact, we need to love those who are the hardest to love especially, both for their sakes and for our sakes, but primarily so that God will be glorified when he does something through us (loving the unlovable) that we cannot do ourselves.
That Ain’t Love
When I was growing up – back in the day (I’m old, so I can say that now) – I was a big fan of REO Speedwagon, especially their early albums… umm… CD’s. These lyrics are from the first verse and chorus of one of their later songs called “That Ain’t Love”:
[Verse] You tell me what you think I’m feelin’, you know why I do what I do
Why should you listen to a word I’m sayin’, when it’s already so clear to you
You tell me ’bout my bad intentions, you doubt the very things I hold true
I can no longer live with your misconceptions, baby all I can say to you, is[Chorus:] That ain’t love, I believe you’ve got the wrong emotion
That ain’t love, at least it doesn’t feel like love to me
As long as I say what you wanna hear
Do what you wanna do, be who you want me to be
You think that’s love, well baby that ain’t love to me
While I think that Speedwagon and I have very different understandings of love, there is much truth in this song. The “lover” referred to in this song tries to manipulate the person singing by telling him what to think and what to do. The “lover” does not have to listen to the singer, because she already knows everything. In truth, the “lover” has “misconceptions” about love.
The singer is absolutely correct. Manipulative love is not love at all. Manipulative love – that is, “love” that would manipulate the other person – is truly only “self love”. So, the “lover” – the one being sung to and about – is not demonstrating true love.
But, in reality, the singer is not demonstrating true love either. How do we know? Because the singer is ready to give up on his “lover” because she is not demonstrating true love. Love does not love because it is loved. Instead, true love demonstrates love even when that love is not returned and even when that love is not recognized. Love is not interested in the self, but in the other. Love is not about getting, but about giving.
Of course, none of us can perfectly demonstrate this kind of love. When we attempt to love unconditionally, we will fail. The question is, when we recognize that we are not demonstrating unconditional love, are we willing to admit it and seek forgiveness, or do we simply give up and chalk it up to human imperfections. I think one of those responses demonstrates a trust in God and a reliance on his grace, while the other response demonstrates a trust and reliance on ourselves.
Remember… love is from God.