Love your neighbor

I realize that the following post is a complete contradiction to the previous post, and I see no reason to pretend it isn't or delete posts to make myself look better. I would like to be clear about the fact that being a follower of Christ does not make me, or anyone else, perfect and I would never try to claim that it did. What it does mean, though, is that my imperfections are covered by God's grace and mercy. While I know biblical truths in my heart, I have times (usually daily) when I am unable to put them into practice. I have had some very weak moments over the past several months, but have also experienced some of my strongest moments through that same time.

I would never try to lead someone to believe that being a Christian means that bad things never happen. What it does mean, though, is that I have a Savior who is there with me and giving me strength through it all. He provides just what I need, just when I need it.

So, yes, I have clarity about what God intends my life to be. And, no, I do not have a grip on the emotional roller coaster that is my "NOT life" right now. But, yes, I am praying that the good emotional days begin to outnumber the bad.

I've been obsessed with Joyce Meyer's book, The Love Revolution, since Mr. Wonderful gave it to me. I've read it several times already. Can I just say that God is amazing? I know I shouldn't be surprised by His awesomeness, but sometimes I just am.

I'm pretty sure that I have mentioned before that He has been working on my heart to be a more loving person toward others. For quite some time I have been trying to see situations from the perspective of others. God has been using this as a way to correct my reaction to every day experiences. It has made the biggest impact on my life in so many ways. I know that if others would begin to "love your neighbor as yourself" Matthew 22:37-40, the world would become a radically different place.

To keep things simple for this post, any direct quotes from Joyce Meyer's book, The Love Revolution, will be typed in purple. 

If every person on the planet knew how to receive and give love, our world would be a radically different place. Love must be more than a theory or a word; it has to be action. It must be seen and felt. I absolutely love how Joyce describes love as an action. That is so true. I had a conversation with a young mother a few days ago. We were talking about what her life would be like when the baby came. She was telling me how much she loved her baby. I knew exactly what she meant. But I found myself also saying to her, "Yes, but love by itself won't take care of your baby. You will have to work hard to take care of her because you love her." 

God is love! Love is and has always been His idea. He came to love us, to teach us how to love Him, and to teach us how to love ourselves and others. Our job, as Christians, is to live our lives the way Christ lived His. We need to overthrow the dominance of selfish, self-centered living in our lives. Instead of living life the world's way, we should live life Jesus' way. The world's way tells us to be out for number one, put yourself first, and to do whatever it takes to get what you want, when you want it, and how you want it. I am sure you have heard John Donne's famous line, "No man is an island." These words are simply a way of expressing the fact that people need each other and affect each other. Jesus told us to love one another because that is the only way the world will know He exists (see John 13:34-35).

God is love, and when we show love in our words and actions, we are showing people what God is like. When I think about the fact that I may be the only "Bible" some people ever "read," I am shaken to the core. What type of example am I being to others? Am I loving them in a way that would lead them to Christ? It is a fact that the world is watching Christians, waiting to see if we really are what we say they are. They are waiting to see how we react to situations. They are waiting to see how we handle ourselves. They are waiting for a chance to call us a hypocrite. As I already said, I would never try to claim that being a follower of Christ makes you perfect. But if you are genuinely trying to model your life after Christ's, I believe that people will see a difference in you, even when you fall. People are watching and I am amazed by what they notice and remember. Paul said to let all men know and see your unselfishness, your considerateness, your forbearing spirit (Phil. 4:5). Jesus encouraged us to let all men see our good and kind deeds so they would recognize and glorify God (see Matt. 5:16). Jesus did not mean that we should be showoffs or do things for the purpose of seeing seen; He was encouraging us to realize how much we do affect the people around us.

The Bible says we are to seek to be kind and good (see 1 Thess. 5:15). Seek is a strong word that means "to crave, pursue, and go after."  I believe God wants us to wake up every morning with the intention of living our lives to serve others. Everywhere He went, Jesus was doing things for others. He constantly stopped what He was doing to help someone else. He never told someone, "ya know, I've just got too much on my plate right now." If the Savior of the world wasn't too busy to lend a hand, then we should never be too busy to do something for another person. Doesn't matter how simple that "something" may be. Doesn't matter how many others may have already done it. Doesn't matter if the person won't appreciate it. Doesn't matter if the person will never even know about it. 

Joyce told a story in her book about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. I see myself all over this story. I never call people (even though I think about it all the time) because I don't want to disturb them. What if I can't think of anything good to say? What if they girls start screaming (as they always do when I pick up the phone) and the person can't hear me? I never stop by to check on people ( think about that all the time also) because they may be in the middle of something. I don't cook for them because they may not like what I make. I don't send a card because it may not seem sincere. The worst part of all of this is that all of these excuses are really about me. When I don't do these things, I am being selfish and focusing on what I want or need. I am not really considering the other person who may need someone but not have anyone because everyone else is being selfish, too. After all, the ministry of just "being there" is often what people need most.

Living a life of love the way Christ did is going to be a sacrifice. It was a sacrifice for Him to die for our sins, so of course it will be one for us, also. If you feel you are already loving your neighbor as yourself, consider this. Are you giving only of what you didn't want anyway? King David said he would not give God that which cost him nothing (see 2 Sam. 24:24). Real giving occurs when I give somebody something that I want to keep. God gave us His only Son because He loves us, so what will love cause us to do? It is pretty easy for me to offer to help someone when I have nothing better to do. But what if someone needs me and I already have plans? I always give away clothes we have outgrown to Hannah Home. But what if someone needed clothes that I still wear?  

The greater the opportunity is, the greater the sacrifice must be. I remember a time when I was complaining about some of the things God seemed to be requiring of me, because I felt others didn't have the same requirements placed on them. He simply said, "Joyce, you have asked Me for a lot. Do you want it or not?" Ouch. Every time I read those words, I can almost hear the audible voice of God saying them to me. I have asked God to give me a heart like His so that people may see Him through me. Learning to be like Christ is often uncomfortable. 

Real love requires sacrifice. Jesus died so we could have life and have it abundantly. Soldiers die so that civilians can remain safe at home. Fathers go to work so their families can have nice lives. Mothers go through the pain of childbirth to bring another life into the world. It seems quite obvious that someone usually has to experience pain or inconvenience for anyone to gain anything.  We are blessed to be a blessing; we are saved to seek and save others. We are healed to heal, forgiven to forgive. Life is not about us. It has always been about others.

Years ago I came across a piece about someone who fell into a pit and couldn't get out-and how others treated that person:

A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."

An objective person came along and said, "Well, it's logical that someone would fall down there."

A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."

A mathematical calculated how the individual fell into the pit.

A news reported wanted an exclusive story on the person in the pit.

A fundamentalist said, "You deserve your pit."

A Calvinist said, "If you'd been saved, you'd never fallen in that pit."

An Armenian said, "You were saved and still fell into that pit."

A Charismatic said, "Just confess that you're not in that pit."

A realist came along and said, "Now that's a pit."

A geologist told him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit.

An IRS worker asked if he was paying taxes on this pit.

The county inspector asked if he had a permit to dig the pit.

A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."

An optimist said, "Things could be worse."

A pessimist said, "Things will get worse."

But Jesus, seeing the man, reached down and took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit.

Whew! Amen! Praise the Lord! If that doesn't make you want to shout then I don't think anything will!! How amazing is it that Jesus didn't come to condemn us for being in a pit? He doesn't question us about the "how's and why's" of our situation just so He can gossip about us. He doesn't tell us what we did wrong or what we should have done instead or what He would have done if He were us. He doesn't tell us our situation isn't bad compared to His. He doesn't tell us He feels sorry for us and then walk away. No! He reaches His hand down to us and lifts us out!!!!!! How simple and awesome is that?! This, my friend, is the way we should act when we see someone struggling or hurting. We shouldn't compare notes or assess the situation. We should just reach out and hold their hand. We should love them the way Jesus does.

Jesus came to die for people. He was and is in the people business. And you and I need to be in the people business, too. We should always keep in mind that God loves everybody, and we need to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. We need to encourage them to be who God created them to be.

The single biggest problem we have in Christianity is that we listen to people tell us what to do-and we even tell others what to do-and then we walk out of our church buildings or Bible studies and do nothing. It doesn't matter what we think we know. The proof of what we know is in what we do. Jesus said we would be know by our fruit (see Matt. 12:33), which means that people can tell who we really are on the inside by what we produce with our lives and by our attitude. 

John made a startling and sobering comment when he said that "he who does not love has not become acquainted with God, [does not and never did know Him], for God is love" (1 John 4:8).

Jesus said, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important:
'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:37-40