Radical Love- Part Deux

A quick thought(s) before I get into part 2:

The Lord has been really revealing to me how, though I love to look at the disciples and try to compare my life to their lives, I'm much more like the young boy who gave his small meal (two fish and five loaves- John 6). Like that young boy, I have not much to offer at all. I am one of the masses, just striving to hear Jesus. But like that young boy, if I give what little I have to the Master, He will multiply it and bless thousands (or more). This blog is a product of the Lord- I give what little gifts the Lord has given me back to Him and I pray that it is Him writing in and through me- all glory to Him.

Another thought- I want my heart to be like the king's heart in Proverbs 21:1- "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will." Streams are constantly moving- they are not ponds or lakes, but on-the-go. Streams also give life to creation, whether it be animals or plants. But I want my heart to be directed by the hand of the Lord, letting Him lead and guide me, and filled with the Living Water. Oh Lord- this is my prayer!

Part 2: Loving non-believers

I want to begin by saying that if you don't share my belief in the risen Saviour Jesus Christ and are reading this blog- I am deeply appreciative that you are reading! I mean not to ostracize you or put you in any sort of negative light... this is merely a call to action and a higher standard for those in the Body of Christ. Please feel e-mail me! I would love to discuss this further with you: Nashty4Him@gmail.com.

While visiting my dear friend Kyle up at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I had the opportunity to go into the library and read some great books. One of them (Unfortunately, I cannot remember which at this moment) made the interesting observation that while Jesus called those who desired to follow Him to a very high standard, the people who were most attracted to Him were those furthest away from this standard: tax collectors and prostitutes, among others. He calls His followers to give all they have to the Lord, deny themselves, take up their instrument of suffering (cross) daily, love their enemies, and much more... How is it that these people desired to follow Him although He preached a very strict way of life?

I believe it was because of His love. Clearly, because God is love and Jesus was God in the flesh, this was love at its truest and best form. Just think of how he treated the woman who wept at his feet and poured precious perfume over his feet (Luke 7)- He loved her. He didn't disgrace her like others wanted to, but loved and forgave her, seeing her heart.

At the cross (Luke 23), surrounded by "criminals", instead of complaining about dying in such a lowly estate, He had compassion on the criminal who believed in Him.

In Luke 18, when the two men entered the temple to pray, would not the majority of us figured that the Pharisee- the one who lived according to the "rules", diligently living a good life- be the one justified before God? I would have. But Jesus saw beyond what we can see- He saw their hearts. He loved the one who would "not even lift up his eyes up to heaven, but beat his breast, saying 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner'."

Finally, when Jesus saw Zacchaeus in Luke 19, did He just overlook this man because he was a thief and tax collector? By no means. He saw that Zacchaeus earnestly desired to be with Him, and disregarding what others would think of Him, He went to Zacchaeus' house. But this is one of the best examples of Jesus' love: He didn't just love them and leave it at that- Jesus' love was a transforming love. His love was so powerful that it caused Zacchaeus to give all that he had (essentially, if you factor in all that he promised to give).

These people loved Jesus and desired to follow Him because He didn't just assume that, due to their external appearance, they would have nothing to do with Him. He didn't assume that they were terrible people because of past events/circumstances, but loved them with a transforming love. Did this happen with every single prostitute, tax collector, etc. that came into contact with Jesus? I don't believe so, but the very fact that so many did turn from their old ways teaches us an important lesson: never assume.

I am terribly guilty of this: seeing someone in a mean state, poor, maybe homeless, begging... and assume. I hear of people doing terrible things... and assume. What if I stopped assuming and started investigating, seeing how and why they are the way they are?

A friend of mine growing up was Chris Arnold. On our summer missions trips in middle school, he was known as the super-hyper and (to many) annoying kid. He would come in to the "teen" room screaming to wake us up and many of the "cool" teens disliked him greatly. But on our first trip together, I got to hear something that few others knew: that his Mom was in a very rough state of health and had been for a while, and that he had lost his older brother a few years before. I'm not giving him 100% excuse for being the way he was back then, but the Lord put a love in me for Chris that I can't describe- a transforming love. He and I became good friends and I had the privilege of discipling him for a few years in middle and high school. I had the privilege of watching him transform from the "annoying" kid into a man who did earnestly seek the Lord.

He tragically passed away last year, but one of my fondest memories of with him involved when we were instant messaging during my freshman year at JMU. He was telling me how God was working in his life and how grateful he was to God. I was tremendously humbled at that moment, recognizing that God has used me- a self-centered, broken vessel of His- to influence this guy's life and push him towards Christ. I do miss him even as I write this, as do many others, but I also believe that we will see him again one day...

How easy it is for us to figure that "loving" others is just treating them nicely, not hating them. How easy it is for us to think that because someone is struggling with some form of addiction that they are beyond our ability to help... to love.

So radically loving those who don't yet know Jesus involves not only praying for them (which I don't do nearly enough), but loving them "deeply, from the heart" (1 Peter 1:21) with a love that only Jesus can provide: a transforming love. Pray for that love.

Love radically. Live with the mind of Christ, seeing people through His eyes with His heart. Do it all for the glory of God...

Humbled...

Luke

In honor of Christopher Arnold, 19 August, 1989 to 7 September, 2009, a great friend and brother in the Lord. We love you buddy and miss you... see you again someday.