pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: neighbor


by Leave a comment

Where You Go

The famine passes in Judah and Naomi decides to return to her homeland.  She urges Orpah and Ruth to stay in Moab, to remarry, to start life over again.  It is certainly within the realm of possibilities – both are young enough to do so.  To go against Naomi’s wished and to instead move to a foreign land would be a risky and challenging move.  Naomi knows this as she herself made the same type of move just ten years ago.

Often we too are faced with a similar choice – to stay in the comfortable, know place or to step out into uneasiness and the unknown.  It is easy to stay comfortable.  Orpah chooses to stay with her people.  But Ruth decides that she will go.  Her love for Naomi makes her willing to be that stranger in a foreign land.

Where is your ‘foreign land’?  Is it taking the time to sit and have lunch with the homeless person who asked you for $5 for lunch?  Is it going to that part of town to replace the kitchen faucet for a single mother with lots of young children?  Is it going to the jail to visit and share the love of Christ with an inmate?

Ruth said to Naomi: “Where you go, I will go.”  Christ calls us to go to many places where His light is dim and His love is unknown.  But He always goes with us.  May we, like Ruth, say to Christ and live out those same words: Lord, where you go, I will go.

Scripture reference: Ruth 1: 6-18


by Leave a comment

His Kingdom

The first must be last.  To be first you must become a servant.  These words of Jesus run so counter to the view of the world.  In the world, power is seen as the one on top with the most money or the loftiest title or the best looks.  Jesus says that when we welcome those at the bottom of society and get to know them, then we also come to know Him better.  In the world’s view, those beneath are just stepping stones.

For Jesus, welcoming in and getting to know those who are struggling breaks down the barriers that often separate us.  In forming relationships we remove our misconceptions.  In loving other we help them to see their worth and identity as a child of God.  But it is not all one-sided.  In doing these things, our love for God and our love for neighbor grows as well.  We too are changed.

It is in these moments and through these experiences with the discounted, marginalized, and invisible that we ourselves come to catch a glimpse of God’s kingdom.  It is here we begin to see and know what Jesus meant when He said the first must be last.  In this kingdom we place other’s needs ahead of our own.  It is here that we see being a servant to those in need as a blessing to us as well as to them.  In this kingdom we learn that all are servants.

This life-transforming love of God is powerful.  It can forever change lives.  This day, this week, this life – may we be moved to be builders of His kingdom.  May we bring His light and love to all who are lost and in need.  May we be forever changed.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 33-37


by Leave a comment

Engaging Systems

Our sins are not always the things we do.  Sometimes they are the things we fail to do.  Our sins are not always personal; sometimes they are communal or corporate.

About once a month we have a homeless person come to church on  Sunday.  Sometimes it is some other individual who is noticeable because they are different from the regular worshiper.  As the people of God we are called to love all people and as a whole we really do well at this.  But not always.  Some days we are only as loving or good or welcoming as our weakest or lowest part.  So it is our task as fellow believers to notice these weaker parts and to build them up in love for all people.  We cannot and should not accept less.

As a society there are ills and things that are not ‘right’ in all of our communities.  These are things that certainly cause a tear to roll down God’s cheek.  As the people of God we are called to address the issues in our communities.  This does not mean simply jumping on the latest Facebook bandwagon and adding your ‘like’.  It means being on the streets and in the shelters and in the jails.  It means going to the places where the least, the lost, and the broken are and entering into relationships with them.

To truly be the people of God and to really love all of our neighbors, we must roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.  We must truly walk alongside those in need to begin to see things at a systemic level.  It is at this level that we must begin change.  To end prejudice, injustice, and hate we must begin with fixing the systems that cause these evils.  As Christians we must engage the evils of the world.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Our light needs to shine into these dark places to begin real change at the base level.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12


by Leave a comment

Expanding the Covenant

Long ago God made a covenant with the people of Israel to be their God.  As humanity spread and covered the earth, we can assume that most people did not have a close connection to the God we identify with.  Many people came to worship a creator god as one of many gods they worshiped.  This situation continues today.  Christianity is widespread but remains definitely in the minority.  In fact, in many of the developed countries which were founded on Christian principles, we now live in the ‘post-Christian’ era.

Long ago God identified Israel, of all the Peoples of the earth, as His people.  They were set apart as the chosen people of God.  From the vast and varied tribes of people, God chose Israel and entered into a covenant relationship with them.  It was and is a small, select group of people who follow the Torah and worship the one true God.

Over time though, the Israelites came to focus more on the letter of the Law and its interpretation.  Life became more about the 613 laws rather than loving God and neighbor.  God saw the need to refocus faith on loving God and loving neighbor, so He sent His Son, Jesus, to establish a new covenant.  Jesus lived out the two great commands to love God and love neighbor with every fiber of His being.  He was setting an example for us to follow.  In the end, Jesus gave His body and blood as a means to defeat the power of sin and death and to offer us salvation and eternal life.

God also sent Jesus to expand the original covenant beyond the small nation of Israel into the whole world.  Through the work of Jesus, the apostles, and many Christians that have followed, Christianity has spread to many places throughout the world.  As followers of Jesus Christ, it is our continuing call to do the same – to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth and into the corners of our neighborhoods and churches.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 2: 11-22


by Leave a comment

Know God and His Love

The Law is a long list of do’s and don’ts.  Teh vastness of the Law found in the Old Testament is hard to wrap one’s mind around.  Even our public law code today is long and cumbersome.  In both cases there were or are laws that the common man did not even know about.  Today most people obey the public law because it is for the common good.  Some obey the law to avoid the consequences of not following the law.

Today’s Psalm 1 begins with the don’ts.  Blessed is he who does not listen to the wicked or stand with sinners or sit with mockers.  In then turned to the thing to do: meditate on the laws of God.  Do so and you will yield fruit in season and you will prosper.  For the psalmist, there is reward in following God’s ways.

The same is true today.  Although Jesus looked at the law differently, there is still much value in following the ways of God.  In essence, when asked Jesus boiled all of the Old Testament Law down to two commands: love God and love neighbor.  If one follows these two commands, then all else falls in line.

If we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength then we see the world as God does.  We see each person in need with compassion.  We see injustice as something that needs correction.  We see equality as something all people deserve.  If we love neighbor as self, then we offer compassion, ensure justice, and seek equality for all.  If we live in God’s love and allow it to pour forth from inside of us, then all will prosper and all will come to know God and His love.

Scripture reference: Psalm 1: 1-3


by Leave a comment

First and Foremost

Jesus reminds us what it really means to love one another: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  These words would take on a whole new meaning when we remember what Jesus did on that cross.  Framed around this idea, the command to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ takes on a whole new meaning.

At times I grudgingly do things for my family and friends.  This is not the norm, but I must admit that on occasion I do things with less than a loving heart.  My sense of duty or obligation o responsibility drives my actions instead of the deep love I have for my family and friends.

In dealing with someone I do not know it can be even harder.  It is easier than to not see my sense of obligation or duty.  But then I think of the fireman running into a burning building to rescue a stranger or an ER doctor plunging elbow-deep into someone’s body trying to save their life.  They are committed with all they are to helping the stranger placed before them.

Before you think that it is just their job, consider two things.  First, life often hangs in the balance and people such as these have chosen a ‘job’ with a hefty responsibility.  Second, we all have a second job.  It can be farmer, lawyer, doctor, waitress, teacher, Mom, pastor, and so on.  If we believe in and follow Jesus, our primary job title is “Christian.”  First and foremost we are called to love one another.  And after we have done that with each person we encounter, then we can move along to farmer, lawyer, …

Scripture reference: John 15: 12-17


by Leave a comment

Deep, Deep Love

God’s love is amazing.  God’s love is unending.  God’s love is steadfast and true.  He calls us to abide in His love, to dwell in it, to soak it up, to share it with others.  His perfect love was shown on the cross as God allowed His Son to be our atoning sacrifice.

The cross is also the symbol of how we are to love.  The vertical beam represents the love that flows back and forth between us and God.  Despite our failings and stumblings, His love still always extends to us, always calls us back into relationship with Him.  As we find forgiveness after forgiveness and come to know how much God loves us, our own love begins to flow out to our fellow man.  This love is represented in the horizontal beam of the cross.

At times these relationships with our fellow man will challenge us.  Just as we are to others, some are harder for us to love.  Just as in “The Shack” the God character always said, “I am especially fond of that one,” we too are called to not only say this but to live this out.

One of the best parts of how big God’s love is is shown in our struggles to love all of our neighbors.  His love is so big that we can draw and draw upon it.  In those cases when we especially struggle to love one of our brothers or sisters, draw deep into the love of God.  Soak in His love.  Abide in His love.  Steep in His love.  Then go forth to love that friend in Christ.

Scripture reference: 1 John 4: 7-21


by Leave a comment

He Is Calling

The message of the gospel is for all people.  In His role as the Good Shepherd, Jesus cares for all of the ‘sheep’ in the world.  In today’s reading Jesus says there are sheep in the ‘other flock’ as well.  They too must become part of our flock.

Society has changed over the last fifty years.  For the most part we have lost the neighborhood church or parish.  Most people drive in to the church from their homes in neighborhoods spread out all over town.  In our community people drive past several other churches on their way to their church.  Often people are drawn to a church by denominational ties or because of a friend or family member who already attends that church.

One of the negatives to the community churches that dominate today is the reality that most churches have lost touch with their actual neighbors.  Churches in general minister to the flock that is already inside the walls but struggle to connect with the ‘other flock.’  Those outside the walls of the church physically and spiritually are the ones Jesus seeks too.

As followers of Jesus we are called to a mission and purpose.  We are called to share the love and light of Christ with the lost sheep, many of whom are our neighbors.  The message of the cross is too powerful to keep to ourselves.  As the sheep already in the flock, we know the voice of the Good Shepherd.  Can you hear His voice calling us to reach the least and the lost?  Can you hear His voice calling us outside the walls of our churches and into the lives of the ‘other flock’?  Can you hear the call to share the good news?  He is calling.  Will you follow?

Scripture reference: John 10: 15b-18


by Leave a comment

Becoming Less

Could you eat today on just $4?  How about eating for a week on just $28?  I cannot imagine having only $28 to spend at the grocery store and being able to survive for a week, nevermind for weeks on end.  Yet this is roughly the amount people living at the poverty level has to eat on.  It is tough down there at the lowest economic end of society.  And it is hard to relate to from where most of us sit.  For the most part, those who live like this are not in our churches.

In the faith community described in Acts 4, it is a radical vision by today’s norms.  People gathered together daily, shared what they had, no one was in need.  Today, within some faith communities, there is help offered to one another.  Perhaps we bring meals over to a family during a difficult time or we help a single, older person move into a new apartment.  But when the need is a little greater, do we look around at our abundance and ask “what can I sell?” so that we can give some financial assistance to one in need?

Our society is titled so that the well-off gain more and more while those without continue to struggle.  As a universal church, could we together make a difference in society?  Could our voices united speak to correcting some of these issues on a systemic level?  Could our individual churches reach out into disadvantaged areas and partner with those who are struggling?  Can we mentor, teach, support, assist, and meet basic needs of life?

The answer to all of these questions is the same: yes.  If we follow Jesus we love all of creation, including all of our neighbors.  If we truly hear His call, we too are willing to become a little less so another can become more.

Scripture reference: Acts 4: 32-35


by Leave a comment

Go Forth

When asked, Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind,  and strength.  He quickly added a second that was like the first: love neighbor as self.  These two are alike in two ways.  First, they both involve love, arguably the highest human emotion.  Second, they both involve a two-way relationship.  God’s love for us is unfathomable yet Jesus calls us to love Him back as close to this as we can.  In essence, with every fiber of our being.  In the second, our neighbor are also called to love us back.

Jeremiah 31 speaks of a time when God’s ways and laws do not need to be taught anymore because they will be written on all of our hearts. In our church communities we start to see what this looks like.  In these microcosms people know God and strive to obey His teachings.  People who gather together for worship, fellowship, and so on are known by God and are connected together through this relationship.  Once each is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then their relationship with each other is changed.  All are loved equally by God.  Loving each other in the same way is the basis for this new community.

But… clearly not all are part of these loving communities.  In fact, the majority of people live their lives outside of a church family, outside of a relationship with Jesus.  I believe that if asked, Jesus’ third greatest commandment would be the great commission: go forth and make disciples (Matthew 28:19).  Jesus didn’t say to always stay in our churches.  He didn’t say to closely guard our little communities.  He said go forth.  Into the world.  The great love of and for God compels us to share it with others.  Is not the highest form of loving neighbor to share what is most important to us?  Go forth.

Scripture reference: Jeremiah 31: 33-34