How do you love?

Wow! It has been three weeks since my last post. I guess I have been so swamped I haven't paid much attention. Well, let's jump back in. The last post was about who to love, and the basic answer is: everyone! That's the mission, love for everyone. But how do we love? That's another question. If we are to have transformed relationships, loving as Jesus loved, then we need to figure out how to flesh that out, right?

Well, the simplest explanation of "how to love" is to have others' best interests in mind. Do whatever is best for them. Treat them the way Christ treated people. But when you ask what that means in real life, it doesn't just jump out and slap you in the face. it takes some thought and even some creativity. In the last post, there was a link to a video. The video was a lecture by Shane Wood, and I think the points he makes are very convicting and convincing. If we were to love people the way the early Christians did, then we would have comments made about us the way they did.

The emperor Julian, who reigned from 361-363, made the following comments about Christians (he calls them Galileans):

1. He said their growth was due to "moral character, even if pretended" and by "benevolence toward strangers and care for the graves of the dead."
2. He wrote to a pagan priest, "I think that when the poor happened to be neglected and overlooked by the priests, the impious Galileans observed this and devoted themselves to benevolence."
3. In that same letter he wrote, "The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well, everyone can see that our people lack aid from us."

Can you imagine our government saying something like this about us? Instead, our government continues to try to be the benefactor that it is not designed to be. In frustration, Christians speak out against such measures, but are we taking care of the less fortunate? I will leave that out there to your thoughts.

Here's the deal: we get caught up in our little world where we run non-stop all week long, slow down long enough to attend church on Sunday and maybe even a small group during the week, but there is very little attention paid to loving others. We may even miss opportunities to love on those in our small group and church. What if we, The Church (capital C), were so serious about adoption that abortions ceased because women knew that someone would not only take care of their child, but also love them in spite of any mistakes they may have made? What if we were so serious about not only helping the poor, but getting to know them and love them, that they gained hope and a sense of being valued? What if we became serious about visiting and nursing the sick, even when it might mean our own health risk, so that they felt like human beings rather than a monster with a disease that nobody wanted to be around?

I hope those questions sting a bit, and I hope they motivate you. You see, it is easy to give some money to the poor, to donate some funding to cancer research, or to vote for a pro-life candidate in an election. That is easy! But when someone asks us to give up some time and spend some energy to actually interact with people, we find it nearly impossible. Call it service, call it outreach, call it benevolence, or call it welfare. Whatever you call it, it is loving people the way Jesus loved people. He laid his life down for everyone. And I believe that if we truly want to have transformed relationships, it means we need to begin loving the people who we have relationships with on a different level. It also means building relationships with the people we keep at a distance. They are people, not causes. Only when we get involved with people's lives can we love as Christ loved.

So what's holding you back? Chances are it has something to do with you, something you have control over. Don't make a conscious decision to not love others. Loving others is difficult, but in the end, it is worth every bit of energy, time, and effort we may put into it. Besides, on our discipleship path to become more like Jesus, this is another step we must take. There isn't really an option there. So the question is: how are you loving?

Who do you love?

For the next couple of weeks we will be taking a look at relationships, determining to have transformed relationships by loving as Jesus loved. This may be one of the most difficult areas of transformation for us, but in the end it may also be the most fulfilling. Right now, I want to focus on who to love.

A well known story that sometimes loses its luster is the story of The Good Samaritan. The context of this story from Luke 10 is that a lawyer spoke up to test Jesus. He asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered his question with another question: What does the Law say? The man correctly answered that it says to love God with all of our being and love our neighbor as ourselves. But he adds this follow up question for Jesus: who is my neighbor? That is when Jesus tells the story of The Good Samaritan...and the sting of this passage is the fact that Jesus portrays a Samaritan as someone who loves his neighbor enough to help him. Jews hated Samaritans, so this would really hurt that in Jesus' story, the Jews passed by and the Samaritan helped...feels like a punch in the stomach if you ask me.

So if you get a moment, read Luke 10:25-37. The story is amazing! However, it is simply right-on with the way we choose who we will love. Maybe we see someone in need and simply pass them by because they are not someone we feel comfortable around or they look different or we simply "don't have time" to help them. I remember reading a book by Howard Hendricks in which he told this story: He had set up a scenario in which his seminary students were to prepare a short sermon on this very passage. Then he had a man pretend to be a beggar and placed him strategically in the path of the students as they would go to the lecture hall to present their sermons. Each student, every single one of them, passed by the man hurriedly as they were rushing to get to the lecture hall and prepare to give their sermon. Do you think they got the lesson? Did their sermon preparation sink in? Probably not. I mean think about the last minute sermon illustration that could have been...

Who are we to love? Who is our neighbor? Maybe the better question to ask is: who do I see? Who is around me? Who needs love? Who are the human beings I come in contact with? Every person we come across is our neighbor. Love Everyone!! What about my enemies? Read Matthew 5:43-47. We will examine how to love next week. But I hope you would do yourself a favor this week. Take a little over an hour and watch this video: click here. It will tie this week's blog to next week's blog. Just as a warning, it is very intense, and may be difficult for you to hear.

When God forgives us, and when we become citizens of the kingdom of God, our lives serve as a testimony of who God is. Our job is to be transformed in order to share that testimony with those who don't know of this kingdom. How can you love someone today, this week, this hour? Who is in your path, and who needs love? We'll explore what it means to love next week, but let this suffice for now...it is not about one act. It is about showing you really care. Who do you love?

Transformed Character - Part 3

The last two weeks we have been looking at the three temptations Jesus faced in the desert after his baptism, as recorded in Matthew chapter 4. The first temptation was to turn a stone into bread to satisfy the physical hunger Jesus had while fasting for forty days. The transformed character imitates Jesus, whose spiritual appetite overshadowed his physical appetite. The second temptation was to jump from the top of the temple because God would not let Jesus be hurt. The transformed character again imitates Jesus, whose worth to God overshadowed his ego. Today let's examine the third temptation!

The devil took Jesus up to a very high mountain, and showed him the kingdoms of the world, with all their greatness. He said he would give all of these kingdoms to Jesus if he would only bow down and worship him. Jesus told Satan to go away from him, and again alluded to the Old Testament when he said, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." This alluded to Deuteronomy 6:13, which is in the midst of a passage warning against idolatry and following "other gods." In fact, you should read Deuteronomy 6 all the way through. See how much of that chapter is directly related to this temptation!!

Think about the temptation Jesus was facing here.Jesus knew he was going to die for the sins of everyone, but Satan offers a way around that. Satan offers him all the kingdoms of the world. All that is required is for Jesus to bow his knee to Satan. Would you take the easy way out? Would I? The temptation is much greater than we can really imagine. But Jesus was satisfied with his mission. He did not need control over those kingdoms; he did not need control over his life. Jesus desired to worship God rather than to control anything, even his own destiny. So the aspect of a transformed character that is exemplified here is to be satisfied to worship God, rather than desiring to exhibit control. How are you doing with that?

There are so many examples of "the kingdoms of this world" being offered to us if we would just find a way around worshiping God. You can make more money if you do something immoral. You can have a more powerful position if you stab someone else in the back. You could go on and on. But let's key in on something so important to these examples of transformed character. Character is not what we do, it is who we are. It drives what we do, but it is not simply a matter of doing what is right. It stems from a heart that genuinely wants to be Christlike. If my spiritual appetite is genuinely greater than my physical appetite, or my worth in Christ is genuinely greater than my ego, or my soul is genuinely satisfied to worship God rather than to exhibit control, then My character is truly, genuinely transformed. Will I be perfect? Again, NO! But as our character is transformed, we become more and more like Christ in every aspect of our lives.

Where is your heart? What is your character like? How will your character be transformed? These are all great questions to wrestle with as we seek to become more like Jesus. I can tell you that your character is influenced by those you spend time with and those who you allow to influence you. If you spend time with God, with Jesus through the Bible and in prayer, we will be influenced by him. You will not be influenced by someone you spend no time with. Pray, read God's Word, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you. That is how character is transformed. Next week, we will look at transformed relationships. For now, wrestle with where your character is. Wrestle with how to make time with God, no...life with God a priority. Wrestle with where your character needs development and pray for God's grace to transform you.