For the last couple of months, my family has faced some challenges as a result of illness. These challenges have put us into a position where we have strained a bit under the basic tasks of life. Perhaps the best thing that has come of this time in our life has been that folks have rushed to assist us. Last night, a couple of friends from church, while visiting, took the time to clean my kitchen and wash dishes. In addition, brothers and sisters in Jesus have brought us prepared meals, helped out with our kids, sent us cards, and in all sorts of other ways, worked to support us. I don’t enjoy needing help, but this experience has graphically demonstrated for me something Jesus told his followers: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” I can look at these folks and easily identify them by their loving acts. There are all sorts of things that folks think is a marker of followers of Jesus. They show up to church, they were born to a certain family or in the U.S., they vote certain ways, they try to be nice to folks, etc. But, what Jesus is said is that folks who are his “disciples” (a fancy word that means they are his students and actively live according to his teachings) because they love one another. “Love,” as it is used here, doesn’t just mean feeling warm and fuzzy toward another person. Rather, it means to selflessly and self-sacrificially serve each other. This is done gladly and involves actually caring for the well-being of the other person. It is more than lip service to an idea. It is a lifestyle that involves trying to be like Jesus.
The problem that often arises with this teaching is that it doesn’t always reflect the reality of what Christians and the church actually are. Whereas non-Christian writers report a sense of astonishment at the level of love and care that was typical of the church in the first few centuries of its life; the church of today is often marked by infighting, judgmental attitudes, and disharmony. I love and feel loved by the folks I pastor here in Big Sandy. However, I’ve worked with people in churches in the past that were downright mean sometimes. James tells us that it isn’t right for blessings and curses to come from the same mouth. We can’t do both. A person can’t be a vegetarian while still eating steak every day in the same way that a person can’t claim to be a follower of Jesus while ignoring his teachings. Years ago, I realized that this meant that I had to take it seriously when Jesus taught that his followers were to love neighbors, forgive those who wrong us, and make peace with anyone who despises us. I spent months visiting folks who I had parted ways with in conflict and making peace with them. I didn’t feel like I was wrong in every instance, but in every case the other person felt that I had wronged them. This made it necessary to set things right. If I claim to be a Christian, I have to become the kind of person who loves others naturally. “How well do I reflect the teachings of Jesus?” or “Do people know I follow Jesus by my love for others?” are questions that every Christian should ask daily. Over the coming weeks, this column will look at this topic in depth.
