Loving Others

Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39, that the second greatest command is “love your neighbor.” The version of this story in Luke's gospel adds the detail that someone asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus then tells the story of the good Samaritan. A Jewish man is robbed and beaten by thugs. They leave him for dead. Two men, both Jewish religious leaders, pass by the man. They do not help him. A third man approaches. He is a Samaritan. At the time, Jews and Samaritans were cultural enemies. It was expected that the Samaritan would pass him by. Instead, the Samaritan stops, bandages the man’s wounds, takes him to an inn and pays to have the man taken care of. Jesus asks, “who was the man’s neighbor?” The answer, “the one who showed mercy.” Jesus says, “go and do the same.” (Luke 10:25-37)

We are commanded to love everybody. Not just our friends. Not just the people that go to our church. Not just the people who are like us. Jesus spoke more about this in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 5, Jesus says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) It goes against our nature to love our enemies. But it is something we are commanded to do. When I find it hard to do this, I look to the book of Romans. In this book, Paul writes, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) As sinners, we were enemies of God. He chose to show his love for us through the life and death of Jesus. When we are called upon to love our enemies, we should remember that we can do it because it has been done for us.

So how do we love others? There are many answers to that question. I would like to focus on two. One way that we can love others is to serve them. The thirteenth chapter of the book of John tells us an interesting story. Jesus and his disciples have gathered together to eat the Passover meal. At the time, most roads were made from dirt and it was customary for the host of a meal to provide someone, usually a child or servant, to wash the dust from his guests’ feet. When the disciples arrived for this meal, there was no one to take care of washing the dust from their feet. So what did they do? Nothing! Instead, they went right to the table and began eating. Their tables were not like ours. We sit in chairs at a table that is usually 2 ½ to 3 feet off the ground. Our feet are below us on the ground. In Jesus’ day, they ate at tables that were very low to the ground. Diners would recline on pillows around the table with their feet stretched out beside the person next to them. Sound appetizing? Not without a foot washing it doesn’t! Jesus did something totally against the cultural expectation of the time. He didn’t pick out a servant or one of the disciples to wash everyone’s feet. Instead, he did it himself! Taking a towel and a basin of water, he went from person to person, fulfilling the duty of the lowliest servant. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable the disciples would have been watching this happen. Peter even tried to stop Jesus from washing his feet. Jesus used this opportunity to teach in a very practical way that his followers are called to serve others. (John 13:1-17) We have opportunities to serve others everyday. We can wash the dishes after dinner. We can mow the lawn for an elderly neighbor. We can take someone to the grocery store or to the doctor. We can visit a sick friend. If we make ourselves available to God as a servant, he will give us opportunities to serve.

Another way that we can love others is to forgive them when they do us wrong. Jesus told a story about a servant whose large debt was forgiven. The servant did not learn from his merciful master. Instead, he went out and had another man arrested because the debt he owed could not be paid. The servant’s master learned about his behavior and unforgiving spirit and had him jailed because of his original debt. (Matthew 18:21-35) Jesus taught us this because we have been forgiven a large debt. Is it right for us to be forgiven and not forgive in return? No! Some may say, “you don’t know what he did to me,” or, “she’s done this so many times,” or, “he didn’t ask for forgiveness.” I understand that and, from a human point of view, I agree. But we’re called to live in a way that looks beyond the human point of view. We need to understand how badly even the smallest sin offends God, but he is able to forgive us. Should we not do the same for others?

Richard Wurmbrand is a pastor and the founder of an organization called “The Voice of the Martyrs”. His organization’s purpose is to provide information about the persecution that Christ’s church suffers around the world. Pastor Wurmbrand is no stranger to persecution. He spent fourteen years in prison in Romania, a prisoner of the Communists. During his time in captivity, he was tortured numerous times. His body still bears the scars from the abuse he suffered. In his book, Tortured for Christ, Pastor Wurmbrand writes:

A flower, if you bruise it under your feet, rewards you by giving you its perfume. Likewise Christians, tortured by the Communists, rewarded their torturers by love. We brought many of our jailors to Christ. And we are dominated by one desire: to give Communists who have made us suffer the best we have, the salvation that comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. (p. 63)

Traditionally, we define a martyr as someone who is killed because of their belief in Jesus Christ. According to an on-line encyclopedia “Many church historians believe that there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than in the first 19 centuries combined.” Many of these martyrs’ stories are catalogued in two books published by “The Voice of the Martyrs” called Jesus Freaks. It is amazing how many Christians are able to die with the words of Jesus on their lips. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

"There's something empty if our worship is just us getting excited or just us giving praise to God, because as we align ourselves with God's heart for the world coming out of times of worship, it should inspire us to go serve our neighbors." - Tai Anderson, Third Day, bass guitar