February 19, 2022

 

Start With You

 

You made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you. – Jeremiah 42:20-21

 

We are a divided land. The division isn’t between Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Americans and the rest of the world. The division is between those who truly hear God’s words and those who merely pretend to do so.

 

We are so intent on getting our own way that we miss the truth. And what might that truth be? That we’re all wrong in how we choose to follow our God.

 

It’s not about us. How often do we throw those words out? And, yet, it is. It’s about our opinions and our comfort. It’s about what we think is best for us. We pick and choose what to believe, using God’s words for destruction rather than direction and healing.

 

Anne Lamott said this: You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.

 

Ouch.

 

God is love and compassion and healing. God calls us to help those who are hurting and have needs. He never tells us to pick and choose who is worthy. But we do.  We’ve decided that we’re superior to those who have less or live in a different country and that opinion has hardened our hearts toward those made in God’s image.

 

We ask God what we should do. We plead with Him to heal our land and turn people back to Him. Yet we’re the very ones who refuse to do as He says.

 

Do you truly want to turn others toward God? Do you really want everyone to follow Him? Then start with yourself. Let someone cut in front of you in traffic. Smile at a stranger. Donate, and volunteer, at a food pantry. Refuse to look down on people, choosing instead to show them the light of Jesus in all that you say and do. People are drawn to those who actually live their faith. Kindness and compassion reflect Jesus.

 

It's so easy to demand change from others. We’re really good at pointing fingers and judging circumstances we don’t fully understand. Instead, take a step back and asked God to put in you a clean heart.

July 28, 2018

Who Is Your Neighbor?

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

– Luke 10:29

This wasn’t just any man questioning Jesus. The Bible tells us he was an expert in the law. He wanted to test Jesus. But Jesus always has a way of turning the test back to the person asking the question.

What must you do to inherit eternal life? Love God with all your heart and soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus let the man answer for himself and then assured the “expert” that he had answered correctly.

But the man, much like us, wouldn’t leave it there. He wanted to know who his neighbor actually was. And Jesus, being Jesus, answered with a parable designed to cut right to the heart of the matter. We would do well to heed His words today.

Some Christians believe their neighbor is only an American. What do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus only meant for us to love those like us, those who share an earthly citizenship with us?

When Jesus told us to go forth and make disciples of all nations I guess He didn’t intend for those disciples to be our neighbors. Maybe Jesus never expected us to love them, to have mercy on them, to include them. What do you think? Did Jesus expect us to look down on others, much the way the Pharisees looked down on Gentiles (that would be me) and Samaritans?

We know the parable well. We call it the parable of the Good Samaritan. We understand that someone should help those in need. Just not us. That’s especially true if it means we might have to get our hands dirty or share what we have claimed as our own.

What did you sacrifice to live in this country? For most of us, the answer is absolutely nothing. We are here, enjoying the freedoms and privileges, because it’s where we were born. Most have never served in the military or fought in a foreign land. We don’t have a clue about a lifetime of daily suffering and fear.

Yet we reject those who come to us for refuge. We blatantly cast aside those who are hurting without bothering to hear their story. We tell ourselves they aren’t our neighbors. Jesus didn’t intend for us to love them. They need to follow the law. They have no right to grace or mercy unless they follow the rules.

Was it lawful for Jews to associate with Samaritans? Not really. It made them unclean. Maybe that was why the Samaritan had mercy in his heart. He understood how it felt to be cast aside, to be deemed unworthy, to be condemned because of his birth.

So, while the priest and the Levite went out of their way to avoid a traveler in need, the Samaritan stepped up. He got his hands dirty as he personally cared for the traveler who’d been beat up and robbed. He paid money for a hotel room and, when he left the next day, he told the innkeeper to look after the man and he’d pay him anything extra if the innkeeper had any added expenses.

It cost the Samaritan. It cost him time and money. But he did it because it was the right thing to do.

Jesus asked the “expert” which of the three men was a neighbor to the man who fell victim to robbers. He correctly answered: the one who had mercy on him. What was Jesus’ response? “Go and do likewise.” (v. 37)

We spend so much time trying to sort out who is worthy to be our neighbor. We want to pick and choose who to help and who to cast aside. But that’s not based on the Bible. Who is your neighbor? Before you decide, consider how Jesus would answer. Then go and do likewise.