Love as motivation and motivation
【Mu Yi & Xing Yi】Response
How to show love?
"Love is as strong as death...many waters cannot quench it, nor floods drown it." (See Song of Songs 8:6,7)
These verses praise love and are also the words used by Bishop Michael Bruce Curry to bless and encourage the couple when he presided over the British royal wedding.
Marriage and family require firm, committed love to cultivate and maintain; Jesus asked his disciples to "love one another." God wants us to first love Him with all our ability, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Love is the mark of a follower of Christ and an irrefutable commandment from God.
In the early church, Gentile brothers provided financial resources to meet the needs of the Jewish brothers. And be careful about what you eat, and do not allow the freedom of eating and drinking to stumble members who are weak in faith. This is a practical expression of compassion for the Lord’s family.
How do we express love in the church today?
Some are dedicated to preaching the gospel, some are caring for the disadvantaged; some are testifying through social media, some are standing on the street handing out tracts; some are preaching in front of the crowd, some are praying in secret rooms...
No matter what the delivery method is, Christians continue to spread God’s love through traditional or creative channels.
It's just that different methods also bring bias. While we are busy “sanctifying,” are we keeping “tax collectors and sinners” out of the temple? When we “devote ourselves to prayer and preaching,” do we have the heart to say to those in need, “Go in peace”?
Similarly, when we speak for the weak, do we compromise the truth because it is "unjudgable"? When satisfying people’s material needs, do they deliberately avoid mentioning spiritual topics to avoid being accused of selling the gospel?
Are there conflicts between loving God and loving neighbor? Is there really only one choice between the gospel and righteousness?
How did Jesus do it?
In the article "Third Eyes, Third Route" in the 52nd issue of this magazine, Wu Shuyi challenges readers to imitate Christ and walk the road of salvation through the cross with the perspective of truth. Let us carefully observe and consider several passages in the Gospels to see how the Lord Jesus did it.
When healing a paralyzed patient, Jesus first declared that his sins were forgiven, but he did not ignore the man's physical pain and healed the man in public, making the man fully recovered. (See Mark 2:1-12) In this example, Jesus chose to forgive sins first and then heal, and the patient recovered physically, mentally, and spiritually.
In the parable of the "Good Samaritan," Jesus pointed out people's differences and asked the lawyers to base their love on God on others and treat others with kindness and compassion. (See Luke 10:25-37) His teaching to the lawyers is also a lesson to us—don’t let differences hinder mercy, and mercy needs to be based on love for God and for people.
The four gospels all record the miracle of five loaves and two fish. However, Jesus did not give up his mission of preaching the truth. Jesus preached both before and after feeding the five thousand people. The Gospel of John writes in more detail that Jesus even used a very difficult teaching to make those disciples who only wanted to eat bread and be satisfied leave Him. (See John 6:1-15, 22-66) Jesus did not attract people to listen to the sermon by feeding the hungry. Instead, spiritually hungry people were attracted by the truth, and even listened attentively, regardless of physical fatigue. Out of mercy (see Mark 6:34), Jesus did not neglect material food when providing spiritual food. It’s just that what He ultimately requires is to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink the blood of the Son of Man”, accept His gospel, and be eternally satisfied.
Did Jesus value the gospel over righteousness, or did he do good before preaching? It actually depends on the situation. When the need for justice and mercy is urgent, Jesus will never despise it; and no matter how many loaves and fishes there are, the emptiness of the soul cannot be satisfied, Jesus does not ignore the ultimate need of mankind—salvation.
For Jesus, the gospel and righteousness are not alternatives, but the two complement each other. And everything He did was based on obedience to God the Father and compassion for people.
where true love lies
William Carey (1761-1834), known as the "Father of Modern Missions", received God's call to enter India to preach the gospel. Despite the harsh environment, Carey persisted in his mission of preaching the gospel and finally harvested the first fruit after seven years of missionary work. He and his companions also translated the entire Bible into several major Indian dialects and established a seminary.
In his missionary career of more than 40 years, Carey probably only led 700 people to believe in Christ. In densely populated India, the proportion is extremely small. However, he not only cared about the souls of Indians, but also spoke out for social injustice, and became a leader in abolishing India's traditional bad habits such as "sati" (a widow throwing herself into a fire at her husband's funeral, or widow burning) and infanticide. key figures.
What missionary Carey did, whether he was preaching the gospel or doing justice, was all out of love for God and people.
Look around you, inside and outside the church, are there anyone who is wounded, lacking in body, mind, and spirit? Are you and I willing to take a step of faith and courage to love these people by sharing the tangible and intangible resources of our lives?
We can love others because we love God; we love God because God first loved us. May this God whose name is love continue to give us the vision and strength to love others; may the love from God become our motivation and motivation to continue to be righteous and love mercy.
As the lyrics of a medieval poem put it: Where true love is, God is.
"When love is the way, there is selflessness, sacrifice and redemption. When love is the way, there will be no more hungry children in the world. When love is the way, justice is like a river, flowing endlessly; righteousness is like a stream, with an everlasting flow. When love is the way, Poverty will become history; when love is the way, the earth will become a temple. When love is the way, people will abandon their weapons by the river and stop studying war. When love is the way, there will be much room for goodness. Children; because when love is the way, we treat each other as family. When love is the way, we understand that God is the source of love, and we are brothers and sisters, children of God. This is a new heaven and a new earth, a new world. 's human family.
~Excerpted translation of Bishop Kong Maogong’s message on the British royal wedding
Lin Minwen, a literary worker and Sunday school teacher, loves to study and share God’s words.