Simple to say, hard to do

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Saskatchewan Cacti - Grasslands National Park
“If anyone says ‘I love God’ and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.” (1 John 4:20-21, NET)

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 4:20-21, NIV)
It seems simple on its surface: You say you love God, then demonstrate it in love for your faith family members. Conversely, mistreatment of your fellow Christians puts your love for God in doubt.

Let’s assume for the moment that “love” here doesn’t mean “warm, fuzzy feeling,” but rather the active and sincere seeking of the well-being of another person—whether you like him, agree with him, respect him or not. Seeking the fulfillment of God’s desire for humankind as demonstrated in Jesus and the task of reconciliation—person to person, denomination to denomination, country to country—is our response to the love-bond with the creator and creation.

Simple to say, hard to do. It takes determined and wisely-directed effort because our impulses pull us strongly in another direction. Seems to me we’re born with a survival, kick-ass gene that may have stood us in good stead in prehistory, but is as detrimental to the common good now as indiscriminate and random sexual behaviour, stone axes and eating raw dinosaur tongue without ketchup.

Here’s a test of our sympathy for 1 John’s stern admonition: Do I listen to the news in hopes of hearing about the demise, defeat of others, like Trump or Trudeau, Wall or Scheer, the pope or Franklin Graham? I know, I do. It takes an effort to act differently, to think, “What happened to some people to cause them to behave as they do? And what can I do to counteract the destructive acts and words in my world? And can I hope and pray for a peace that includes the people I find myself disliking?”
Like I said, it’s hard, man.
But not impossible. A significant metaphor implicit in the cross regards the courage to struggle toward renewal, justice and peace even unto death. That you or I are not up to that is probably predictable; at least in my case. Possibly, I love my life more than I love peace and justice.

The comfortable pew, timid Christianity are probably by-products of not only the denomination-building perversions of the church, but of the natural need in each of us to find a niche in the world that’s safe and comfortable. All of Christ’s Kingdom should be such a niche.

It’s hard to be physician to the world out there when we’re fully occupied binding up our self-inflicted wounds.
Christian Peacemaker Teams as an organization sets out to promote peacemaking around the world. I close with their statement of values, and a link to their website which I’d encourage everyone to visit. (https://cpt.org/)
  • Honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality
  • Strengthen grassroots initiatives
  • Transform structures of domination and oppression
  • Embody creative non-violence and liberating love.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 14, 2018 at 2:17 PM

    Well done, George. I need firstly to relate constructively those I meet and know. Beyond that, is this love something that addresses both constructive and destructive structures. If I love those who toil for a living, will I support minimum wages at a living level? Will I withstand a capitalistic system that drains buying power upward to those who already have more than they need?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Geo.EppJanuary 14, 2018 at 4:35 PM

    Well put, Hugh.

    ReplyDelete

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