Love for who?
We have all heard that as Christians we are called to Love. Many of us today are increasingly being convicted that this is how the world will best know Christ - through love. 1 John tells us repeatedly that this love must not be in word alone, but in deeds. Because of this we see today an influx of community service by certain branches of the church. Other believers, reacting to this, hold ever more fervently to the importance of verbal evangelism. There is a strong sentiment that deeds alone are not enough, but must be accompanied by the words of truth. And so some sort of a debate has begun.
Being of the certain age and social group that I am, I am admittedly drawn to one of these models above the other, though I see the argument of both sides. However, is it possible that both have missed the mark?
One of my favorite bible passages to contemplate these days is Acts 2:44-47. It reads, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
As I read this the first thing to stick out to me is the communal living of the early church. Lofty thoughts of Karl Marx and the abolition of private property automatically spring to mind. However, as much as I do long to violently slay this monster of greed living inside of me which claims things for myself to the exclusion of others - something else struck me about this passage today.
This was the words, "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." We notice in this passage that the church has staged no major outreach event. This passage describes neither a wide spread influx of door to door evangelism - nor does it describe the church helping the needy of the city and thereby winning them over to Salvation.
There is great love in this passage. A love that drives people to share all their possessions and care for those in need. But WHO is this love directed towards? It is directed towards other members of the church! Could it be that this is the missing component to our evangelistic strategies today? That we have viewed evangelism or "outreach" as our culture has taught us to - that in order to draw more people in, you must reach out. In short: marketing. But is the gospel ever in line with the common sense messages of our culture? Rarely. Could it be that the best method of drawing people into the church is to love and care for and spend time with those who are already members of it?
This teaching is hard to accept because it calls us to a level of trust in God's work instead of our own that we are not accustomed to bearing. It takes the responsibility for drawing unbelievers into the truth away from us and places it in God's hands. Can we really trust him to do this work?
Finally I will conclude by quelling any fears that by this I am saying we should end all efforts at "out reach" - whatever your particular congregation defines that as being. By no means am I saying that. I believe that the excitement of this Truth that we know should be so bubbling over the edges of our soul, and thereby out of our mouths, that we cannot help but share the message of Christ with any unbeliever who we have an opportunity to share it with. I believe that we should be so filled with gratitude for the Love Christ has shown us that we are equipped and able to love all people at a radical level which includes caring for their physical, emotional, and mental needs - whether they are in the church or not. This comes as a matter of course.
But in this let us not forget what Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, by your love for one another." John 13:35
Being of the certain age and social group that I am, I am admittedly drawn to one of these models above the other, though I see the argument of both sides. However, is it possible that both have missed the mark?
One of my favorite bible passages to contemplate these days is Acts 2:44-47. It reads, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
As I read this the first thing to stick out to me is the communal living of the early church. Lofty thoughts of Karl Marx and the abolition of private property automatically spring to mind. However, as much as I do long to violently slay this monster of greed living inside of me which claims things for myself to the exclusion of others - something else struck me about this passage today.
This was the words, "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." We notice in this passage that the church has staged no major outreach event. This passage describes neither a wide spread influx of door to door evangelism - nor does it describe the church helping the needy of the city and thereby winning them over to Salvation.
There is great love in this passage. A love that drives people to share all their possessions and care for those in need. But WHO is this love directed towards? It is directed towards other members of the church! Could it be that this is the missing component to our evangelistic strategies today? That we have viewed evangelism or "outreach" as our culture has taught us to - that in order to draw more people in, you must reach out. In short: marketing. But is the gospel ever in line with the common sense messages of our culture? Rarely. Could it be that the best method of drawing people into the church is to love and care for and spend time with those who are already members of it?
This teaching is hard to accept because it calls us to a level of trust in God's work instead of our own that we are not accustomed to bearing. It takes the responsibility for drawing unbelievers into the truth away from us and places it in God's hands. Can we really trust him to do this work?
Finally I will conclude by quelling any fears that by this I am saying we should end all efforts at "out reach" - whatever your particular congregation defines that as being. By no means am I saying that. I believe that the excitement of this Truth that we know should be so bubbling over the edges of our soul, and thereby out of our mouths, that we cannot help but share the message of Christ with any unbeliever who we have an opportunity to share it with. I believe that we should be so filled with gratitude for the Love Christ has shown us that we are equipped and able to love all people at a radical level which includes caring for their physical, emotional, and mental needs - whether they are in the church or not. This comes as a matter of course.
But in this let us not forget what Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, by your love for one another." John 13:35
posted by Pamela Joy at 10:36 AM
3 Comments:
Yes. Definitely. I thought of the verse you used at the end when I read the second sentence of your entry. Am I quick or what?
Oh yeah! Preach it, daughter! Exactly, 100% on target. Let us love one another. Let that love bubble right over the edges and bless all whom we know. And there are a number of ways to show love, one of which is verbalizing. There are a number of other good ways. I pray God by his holy spirit would help us choose the best way for each person and each situation.
Hey, we agree! I just recently shared this belief at a city prayer team meeting, but you verbalized it so astutely.
ma
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