1John
3:14 ¶ We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his
brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal
life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive
we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth
his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from
him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in
deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know
that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
John
speaks of one evidence that we have passed from death to life, and I might add,
everlasting life, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a
fundamental doctrine of Christ-centered Christianity. Hatred is a type of
murder, showing contempt for another’s very life. Christ showed us the
importance of that love by dying for us and John says we should be willing to
die for each other.
Friendship
and love in Imperial Rome were all about the usefulness of a person to you. Friendships
could enhance your social standing, provide support in times of need, and reveal
the complex interdependence between public and private life. As they are today,
friendship and love are complicated social arrangements. However, the love that
Christ calls for is not like human love, predicated on tolerance and
conditional on the actions of the beloved. Christ died for all of humanity,
even for those who did not know Him as well as for those who hated Him. His
love is inclusionary not exclusionary. It doesn’t require an object who is our
same skin color, social rank, gender, or ethnicity.
Galatians
3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are
all one in Christ Jesus.
It doesn’t
even require an object who is kind to us. It is a standard we Christians rarely
grasp.
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; 45 That ye may be the
children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
If there is anything that should cause you to
abandon your faith and walk away from Christ this would be it. To love the
unloveable, even the malicious, is unimaginable to us. Again…
Matthew 5:45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust.
John reinforces a statement made by James in
his letter.
James 2:14 ¶
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and
have not works? can faith save him? 15
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And
one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body;
what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith,
if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith
without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
John, like James, demands that we prove who
we belong to by our selfless love for our brothers and sisters in Christ rather
than the mercenary exploitation and power dynamics that characterize so much of
what passes for love in the world. It’s not just talk and it is a height I have
never attained in my own life. There are people and types of people who set my
teeth on edge and whom I detest for their behavior and words, some even in
churches I’ve attended who are deserving of my prayers much moreso than my
contempt and that because of what Christ, the Word of God, the Son of God, did
for me.
This isn’t about tolerating or approving of
someone’s sin. This is about, in spite of their sin, not denying the things
which they need to live and it is about praying for them to be convicted and
changed. It is possible for our protection and for the protection of innocent
others that they be removed from our midst but never mistreated and always
prayed for sincerely. Our love for our brothers and sisters is not suicidal
empathy and we must be clear on that. It is not about inviting someone into our
home who has sworn to kill us. But it is about a genuine love for our brothers
and sisters in Christ, in all of our imperfections.
But would you give your life for a brother or
sister in Christ who can do nothing for you in return, who is weaker than you,
perhaps powerless to reward your sacrifice? There are many questions we have to
contemplate in our walk with Christ.
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