“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Mark 8: 34b
Jesus asks a lot from us to be his disciples. Jesus is saying that being a Christian doesn't just mean we believe the right things about Jesus, or even claim to love him. Jesus teaches us to live a life of...
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46.1).
Happy 2020 to all of you! It is not difficult to say happy new year to family and friends and those you encounter along the road.
Certainly, these casual greetings are important as a way of expressing hope and joy of the possibilities before us. However, it...
Matthew 2:10-11 – When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. (NIV)
Through the many years on being involved and attending...
As we start the new year, we ask the question, “What is new?” Of course so the year is new and we wonder what new experiences await us this year. Do you view the new year with fear or with wonder about what is ahead?
I want you to imagine for a moment. Theologian Henri Nouwen asks us to Imagine that each day, each hour...
Good News People
A number of years ago I was in a lumber yard buying some building material. On the wall was a sign that read: Rules for doing business:
Rule #1: The customer is always right
Rule #2: If the customer is wrong, refer back to Rule #1. In other words, the customer is always right! Jesus also gives us a rule of life to follow:
One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus and asked him this: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12: 28b-32
When we learn to love God through Worship and prayer, and allow the Holy Spirit to move our hearts closer to Jesus, we will more naturally desire to love our neighbour. These commands (rules) of Jesus could also be read like this:
Rule #1: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself."
Rule #2: If your neighbour is not your type; or makes you uncomfortable, or is irritating, refer back to #1.
Too often our love is conditional.
Buying an extra burger and fries to share with a homeless person, helping someone change a flat tire on their car, offering a ride to someone from work who needs one—in these ways and more, God often gives us opportunities to show kindness for someone who has a need.
As I sometimes meet people who are not part of a church, it saddens me when they describe Christians as unkind people. Sometimes I hear in conversations that the Christians they know are selective with their love. They have experienced Christians as judgmental. Of course, it is easy to be critical of the church if you focus on the negative. However, many people see church buildings in their communities as little more than social clubs. In their opinion, they hear church people speak out mostly about what they oppose, and not so much about what they are doing to bring hope and healing to their neighbours in the community and in the world. In a culture which is less Christian oriented than the previous generation, the church is under more scrutiny and therefore it is even more necessary to be the church as Jesus Christ intended.
The world needs to see Christians as people of kindness, compassion—good-news people who act like Jesus. That will move forward when we are intentional about nurturing a habit of practicing love for God and for our neighbours.
As we are starting a new church year this September, let us resolve to take our Lord seriously in learning to love him more and love our neighbours more with kindness and compassion.
Certainly we have a positive, loving and friendly church. However, if we stop there and do not go beyond our comfort zone as Jesus did, we can easily fall back to merely looking after ourselves and our preferences (refer back to rule #1 - Love God and love your neighbour). Being Good News people is not only good news for those who witness you in action, but also good news for yourself as you grow in love for God and neighbour!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to love you more, and open our eyes today to see our neighbours around us. Show me how to receive them as people you love. Amen.
