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8/5/07

Takin’ Love to the Next Level

Most of us are probably familiar with the idea that Christians are supposed to be in the world but not of the world.  We know what to do to be in the world.  I'm not talking about keeping your feet on the ground.  Gravity takes care of that pretty well.  What I'm talking about is that I look more or less like the people around me.  I drive a car, live in a house.  I'm sure I do many of the same things other people do to enjoy time.  I'm an American.  I'm here in this place, and I fit in. 

It takes more effort and is more difficult to think of being not of the world.  After all, what does that really mean?  Do not be of the world.  There is really only the difference of one word between those two statements.  Just 2 little 2 letter words, and while they don't seem too significant, apparently they are. Because you are supposed to be in the world, but you're not supposed to be of the world.  It's sort of like being strangers or aliens in a foreign land. 

For instance, if you go to another country that is of another ethnicity than yourself, you would be in that country.  But it would be quite clear that you're not of that country.  When I went to Guatemala, I went down there as a five foot 10 Caucasian.  As soon as that plane landed on the runway in Guatemala and I went through the checkpoint with my passport, I was in Guatemala, but it was very clear that I was not of Guatemala.  I was white.  Most of the people there were tanned or brown.  I was 5 foot 10.  I could easily look over most any crowd there.  And perhaps the biggest giveaway was that my Spanish was limited to probably 50 words or less.  I was in Guatemala, but not of Guatemala. 

So we're supposed to be in the world, but not of the world.  In the world is pretty easy seeing as I am here on terra firma, solid ground.  We are in the world.  Even some of the more bizarre people you might see are in the world.  That’s just a physical location.  But we're not to be of the world.  In other words, just as I stuck out in Guatemala, so also we as Christians should stick out in the world.  Something about us shouldn't look quite right.  We should be able to be recognized at a distance.  Someone should be able to say, “That person doesn't fit in.  They are not from around here.” 

Now they're many ways of doing this.  Some Christian groups have chosen some ways which we might consider to be a little more extreme. I'm thinking perhaps of the Amish.  It’s very clear that they're in the world.  They are on the planet, but they're different.  They live a different lifestyle.  They don't take on the modern technologies of this world.  You can look at an Amish person from a distance and say that person is different.  Now that's one way to do that.  That is the way they've chosen, which is fine, but I don't believe that that is necessarily the way that we need to stick out amongst other people.  We may stick out, so to speak, by wearing Christian clothing.  Clothing that has different Christian sayings or verses on them or maybe by wearing a WWJD bracelet.  I know I do this on occasion.  And while there's nothing wrong with that either, this may not be the only way to pick out a Christian, and maybe not even the best way to pick out a Christian.  Jesus said that they will know you are Christians by your love, and so I guess an Amish person can stick out by what they wear and by the technologies that they do or don't have.  But more importantly, an Amish person should stick out because they’re loving.  Likewise, you can wear Christian clothing.  You can wear clothing with Bible verses all over them, or wear a WW JD bracelet on your wrist, or put a Christian slogan bumper sticker on your car, but if you do any of that without love, then you might stick out, but it's not for the right reasons.  If anything, you may be giving Christianity a bad name, and that's not what we want to do it all.  We can even go around everywhere saying “I'm a Christian, how about you?”  “I'm saved, how about you?”  It would be quite clear that there was something different about us.  It would make you stick out.  People would be able to notice you from a distance and know that you claim to be Christian, but that's still not what Jesus was getting at. 

Jesus said they will know you are Christians by your love, but I often struggle with that because I know some very loving non-Christians.  You know what I mean.  You probably know these people.  They’re people who would help anyone ... who would do anything... for anybody ... at any time, but they are not Christians.  So what's the difference between them and me?  How will someone know that I'm a Christian by my love and know that they're not a Christian?  And to be honest, I still struggle with that a bit. 

I think the love that Jesus is talking about is a God like love, and that may be the reason it's so hard to distinguish it from the love that non-Christians show.  It's because we see so little of it.  I'm not saying that we aren't Christians.  What I wonder is how often do we love to the extreme that Christ meant when he said they will know you are Christians by your love?  You see, I'm sure Jesus knew a lot of nonreligious, non-Jewish people who were very loving as well, so I can't imagine that this problem didn't exist in his mind to.  Do you know what I mean?  I think he meant that if you want people to know that you're a Christian by your love, you need to take love to a whole new level.  A level which I personally have not seen very often.  You need to stick out just as I did in Guatemala.  The average male was probably about 5 foot 5, and I'm 5’10”.  Maybe he's saying, “I know there's love all throughout the world, but you need to find ways to make your love stick out among everyone else's.” 

Now, I'm sure you can think of some ways, but am I loving even when it costs me something: whether physically, emotionally, or whatever it may be?  Am I loving when I have to sacrifice something in order to love someone else?  That’s a love that might be difficult to find in the world.  Maybe it means loving someone who you disagree with.  Maybe it means loving someone who hasn't asked to be involved ... they haven't asked for forgiveness ... they haven't asked for your friendship.  They haven't asked to be loved.  Maybe they want to be left alone.  Maybe they despise you.  Maybe this is what we have to do to stick out.  Maybe that's what Jesus meant when he said love, ”love your enemies.” 

Our passage this morning comes from Luke 12 starting at verse 13.  This passage doesn't specifically mention love, but I think that when it really comes down to it, Jesus brings out the fact that God like love has to be at a whole different level.  Luke 12, beginning at verse 13. 

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”  ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”  ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.  ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’  ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’  ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is being demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  ²¹ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Well, love wasn't mentioned anywhere in that passage.  It’s a passage about wealth.  But follow with me, and I think we'll see that it is ultimately love.  Two men come up to Jesus with a request, and it's a request that I think we might find frequently in our day and age.  “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  In other words, the brother saying, “I want what's fair.  I want my fair share of my inheritance.  Tell him to do It.” First of all, Jesus says, “whoa, this is really none of my business.”  But secondly, “I think there's a lesson to be learned here.”  And if we look, I think the lesson is that God like love holds us to a level that is hard to find. 

“Take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Here I think Jesus makes the distinction between people who are of the world and people who are not of the world.  I think we can find people of the world who do believe that life consists of the abundance of their possessions.  You've heard it before.  The one who dies with the most toys wins.  It's a silly saying, but how many of us in our heart of hearts don't think that sometimes?  We see the family down the street who has a new this and a new that.  We have a family member who has always been able to get whatever they want and need.  And we long for that.  How often do we wish for the abundance of possessions? 

Then Jesus goes on to a parable.  In this parable is a man who is of the world.  This was a blessed man.  I mean there's no question about it.  He had so many things that he didn't know where to keep them all.  But he did have several options.  The passage only mentions the option that he actually chose, but there were other options of what he could do with all of this stuff, these possessions. 

He could have shared with the poor.  That would've been one option.  Another option, I suppose, would've been to simply discard the extra... probably not a very likely option, but it was an option.  He could've asked his neighbors if they had room to store some of his crops.  That was an option, but he might have had to give a portion of his crops to the people who were allowing him to store his crops.  He didn't do any of these things. All of these things involved giving of himself to at least some extent.  If he gave to the poor, he might not receive any recognition.  He could have disposed of the extra crops, but that just didn’t make sense.  The cost of using someone else's barn would have meant having to give up some of his crops.  So he does what he sees to be the best option.  He tears down the barns he already has and builds bigger ones, and then he has plenty of room for his crops, and he can just sit back and relax.  He can rest, not worrying about anything.  Not worrying about those who still have to sweat and labor day in and day out just for enough food to put on their own tables.  He doesn't have to worry about that because he has plenty of food on his own table.  As we know, God wasn't too happy with this decision.  His life was taken from him, and all that stuff didn't matter.  It was there in the barns, but he could never use it. 

And Jesus ends this parable with, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich toward God.”  Now, isn't that an interesting phrase.  “Rich toward God.”  I wonder how we can be rich toward God.  I think that maybe we can look at the summary of law.  What is the greatest commandment?  That you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your soul, with all your mind.  And the second is like it -- love your neighbor as yourself.  If those are the two greatest commandments, then wouldn't it make sense that being rich toward God would involve loving God and loving our neighbor?  Had that man practiced God like love I think he would've shared with his neighbor.  But there are non-Christians who share with others and give to charities too. 

I wonder what God like love would've looked like in this parable?  Perhaps the wealthy man would've said something like, “Look at my abundance. I wonder how many people I could help with this abundance from God?”  It reminds me of the movie Schindler’s List.  Schindler’s List takes place during the holocost of WWII.  Mr. Schindler pays out large sums of money to release many people being held captives by Hitler’s Germany.  When he runs out of money, he is dismayed to think that there are still so many more people who need help.  He starts to sell things that are near and dear to him, just so that one more captive can be released.  I think that’s God like love… that’s love I haven’t seen too often.

God has required a tithe, 10%, ever since the Old Testament. I think we have to be honest with ourselves.  God knows our hearts.  Some of us might say, “If I could increase my giving to the church and other charities to 2%, it would be a considerable sacrifice for me and my family, but I know God will be faithful in supplying my needs.” I believe God will see the intent in your heart.  Other people, they could give 50% or 60% or 70% and it still would not be much of a crunch.  I've even heard of people whom God has blessed throughout their life so much that they have such an abundance that they give away 90% and live off of 10%.  These people could have luxurious homes, brand-new cars, and boats, every toy that they could imagine.  But instead, they choose to live in a simple home, drive a simple car, live a simple life, and give away so that others may be benefited.  I don't think we see that kind of love very often, but I do think that's the kind of love that God wants to see

In the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen