Ok, so loving my enemies, doesn’t mean that I shower my foes with cupcakes and butterfly kisses. Instead, it means that godly righteousness manifests God’s attributes, one of which is mercy. But still, doesn’t the Bible say that “they will know that we are Christians by our love”? I mean, the dominant theme in Christianity today is our “responsibility” to engage the social issues of our culture. It’s how we prove we care and validate the Gospel, right?
Not exactly. Jesus’ exact statement is, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35). Note that the point is not to prove we care, but to demonstrate that we are His disciples. In Jesus’ time, a disciple was a student who lived in close proximity to his teacher in order to become like him. So, Jesus is explaining how we look like Him – the issue we have been exploring since Psalm 139.
Furthermore, the love that looks like Christ is not love for all mankind, but “love for one another”. Only Jesus’ disciples were present when He spoke these words, so the love in view is love among believers.
His message, which runs through chapter 17, was that He was leaving and they were to represent Him by loving one another. The disciples focused on the “I’m leaving” part, so Jesus spends chapter 14 explaining why He had to go away, then returns to the theme of representing Him by loving one another in 15-17.
- By abiding in Him, they prove to be His disciples (look like Him), and glorify God (15:1-11)
- Central to abiding in Him is “loving one another” (John 15:12-17).
- Such alignment with Him will cause them to be hated by the world (15:18-27).
- This shouldn’t upset them because it is part of the plan (16:1-4), and He is sending the Spirit to help them in these difficulties (16:5-33).
- He asks God to keep and protect them while they are in the world, but distinct from it (chapter 17).
Note that Jesus warns that when we look like Him, we can expect the world to hate us. This doesn’t leave much hope for “making the world like us”.
Instead, we are to prove that God sent Jesus into the world. How? The strategy is summed up 17:20-21, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
Note the elements –
- “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You” – Jesus prays for divine unity among believers. Such unity is the product of believers loving one another as Christ loved them.
- “that they also may be in Us” – This love for one another flows out of believers abiding in Father and Son. Since Christ is in perfect unity with the Father, as we abide in Him, we abide in the Father. And, just as Jesus’ unity with the Father allowed Him to represent God on earth, so our abiding in Them allows us to represent Them on earth, by loving one another.
- “that the world may believe that the Father sent the Son” – The unity that flows out of our love for one another provides the evidence that Christ came from the Father.
Unfortunately, we have allowed Jesus’ original words to be distorted and misunderstood, and exchanged God’s agenda for our own. In the process, we have mistaken tolerance for unity, and sought to mitigate the fact that, if we look like Christ, the world will hate us.
How does God feel about these shifts. To be honest, I think it is probably one of the things He hates.
Am I saying that we should not love unbelievers? No. But I suspect that “how” and “when” may look different than we expect. The point here is that the defining characteristic of Christians is not love for mankind, but love and unity among believers.
Still, several questions in this vein remain –
- What about the Good Samaritan? Doesn’t Jesus hold him up as model of our responsibility to love everyone?
- Doesn’t Scripture say that true religion is about caring for widows and orphans? Those are expressions of love for mankind in general. What about that?
- Didn’t Jesus say that when we give food to the hungry or visit prisoners, it is just like we are doing it to Him? Doesn’t that imply that we should love everyone?
But we’ll save these for the weeks ahead.
Interesting. Before your commentary, I would have read it the other way as well.
God bless.
Joe,
Glad you are benefiting from the discussion. Thanks for your comments!
Interesting post Garth. It has me going back to look over the how I read the Good Neighbor as I like to refer to Luke 10. I’m also looking at passages such as 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalm 12:5, Psalm 72:5, Psalm 138:6. Also, as I reflect on the heart of God, I’m pointed to scriptures such as Isaiah 65:1-2, and Matthew 23:37, or Matthew 11:28-29. How about the book of Jonah? What was the point of the story? God’s concern for the great city? If God loves us, shouldn’t we reflect His attributes?
When we think of unbelievers, aren’t they just fulfilling their own job description of being a pagan? Shouldn’t we recognize that it’s our responsibility to engage in the practice that we’re called to engage in. Meaning, we are called to be ambassadors. It seems the real problem is not pagans who exercise their own job descriptions, but Christan’s who are not being ambassadors for Christ.
“God is love,” writes the apostle John, “and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). And love, in the practical sense, means being a good neighbor to the people around us – like the Samaritan in Christ’s famous parable. At least that’s what strikes me now and I look forward to next steps of the journey!
Adam,
Thanks for your comments! It is interesting that you mention The Good Samaritan/Neighbor in Luke 10. It is the next passage I am looking at in this series of articles.
Regarding the passages you list –
1 Samuel 2:8 – Verses 1-10 are Hannah’s “Song of Thanksgiving” to God when she dedicates her newly-weaned son, Samuel, to God and leaves him with Eli, the priest. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. The other wife had been able to bear Elkanah children, but Hannah had not. So she had prayed to God, and Samuel was the result. These verse reflect her grateful heart. She begins by “speaking boldly against her enemies”. In the context, that has to primarily refer to her husband’s other wife. A general theme in these verses is a contrast between the arrogant, whom God takes down, and the feeble or humble, whom God exalts. She considers herself a member of this later category, probably because she has been taunted by the other wife. But, now she has been vindicated by God, and rejoices in that vindication.
In her reference to “the poor”, she is not making a general statement about the economically challenged of the world. It is a part of her description of those like herself, who, for whatever reason, have come out on the short end of things, but who are lifted up by God.
Also, it is important to note verses 9 & 10 – “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.” Clearly, Hannah is counting on the fact that the godly are in God’s favor, and that He fiercely opposes those who oppose Him. Thus, there are some to whom He shows mercy, and others to whom He does not. If I am to reflect God’s character – His mercy, I must understand that distinction. I cannot show mercy to someone that God does not, and still reflect His character.
So, I find 1 Samuel 2:1-10 helpful in my pursuit of what it means to love what God loves, and hate what He hates – “Those who contend with Him will be shattered.” God opposes those who actively oppose Him.
Psalm 12:5 – In the verses leading up to verse 5, David is lamenting the disappearance of the godly, faithful man, who seems to be disappearing because men are choosing to arrogantly rely on deceit and flattery, rather than pursue godliness. The “afflicted” and the “needy” seem to be those who are oppressed through such deceit and flattery. And yes, God is presented as acting on behalf of those who experience such oppression. But note, the cause of all this is the shift from trusting God to an arrogant determination to live life on one’s own terms – relying on deceit and flattery, in this case. That is the core problem, oppression is the result. The only solution will be the eradication of unrighteousness.
Does that mean that we do not show mercy to the unfortunate? No. I think we must reflect God’s mercy to those to whom God shows mercy. But clearly in this passage, there are also those whom God opposes. We must recognize that, and I think, reflect it, as well.
Which raises another important question – Is God just as opposed to the thug in the slums that relies on deceit and flattery as He is to the rich and powerful? What about the poor person who falsifies information to get assistance; or the traveling homeless person that has developed a really good story to tug at the heartstrings of churches in the towns they pass through? If the core problem is the abandonment of godliness to rely on lies and flattery, doesn’t the standard apply equally to all people? To me, this highlights the fact that the reality is much more complex than is often presented.
Psalm 72:5 – I’m not sure this is the verse you meant. It looks like verse 4 is more in line with the discussion. In this passage, Solomon is asking God for God’s judgements – i.e., he wants the decisions that he makes accurately reflect God’s judgements – he wants to be perfectly aligned with God. The specific issue for which he requests this is in judging between the afflicted, who are thus needy, and their oppressors. So, we could say that Solomon is asking God for help in loving what God loves, and hating what God hates.
The oppression spoken of was a common problem throughout Israel’s Biblical history, and was a source of God’s judgment upon the nation. But before we take the Old Testament passages that address the issue and make them a mandate for global social action today, we must remember that the concern was always internal to Israel. I can’t think of a single passage where the needy among the Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Moabites, Midianites, Edomites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, etc., is addressed. The concern is about how God’s people care for one another. Just like Jesus says in John 13:34-35.
Psalm 138:6 – The focus in this verse is between the “lowly” and the “haughty”. The concern here is similar to what we saw in Psalm 12:5. “Lowly” does not necessarily equate to “poor,” denotes a general attitude toward life and God. David viewed himself among the “lowly” or “needy” although he was King of Israel. And again, the implication is that God makes a distinction between the “lowly” and the “haughty”, favoring the former, rejecting the later.
Isaiah 65:1-2 – This is not about God’s heart for the nations of the world. The people whom God has pursued in these verses is the nation of Israel, people that He has chosen and blessed, people with whom He has a covenant relationship. In spite of God’s loving pursuit of them, they have worshipped other gods and rejected Him (verses 3-5). As a result, God vows to punish them for their iniquity (verses 6-7). One of the things God hates the most is falsehood as it relates to worship.
Matthew 23:37 – Here again, Jesus is not expressing God’s heart for the world, but for the people of Israel (represented by Jerusalem) who have been pursued by God, but who have rejected Him and his messengers. That is not to say that God does not have a heart for the world, for other passages clearly reflect that (e.g. John 3:16), but that is not the focus of this verse.
Matthew 11:28-29 – Chapter 11 begins with John sending his disciples to ask Jesus whether or not He was “The Expected One” – The Messiah, The Christ, who had been promised throughout the entire Old Testament (verses 1-3). Jesus affirms that He is (verses 4-6), and then moves on to address the watching crowd, and their rejection of both John the Baptist (verses 7-18) and Himself (verse 19). Jesus then denounces the cities in which most of His miracles were done, pronouncing judgement on them because of their rejection (verses 20-24). Jesus then THANKS the Father, because God has hidden the truth from those considered “wise and intelligent”. This is reminiscent of the “haughty” that we read about in Psalms. There is no lament here. Those determined to pursue life independently of God can expect judgment. But to those who are weary and burdened, Jesus invites them to come. For those who are willing to learn from Him, to be His disciples, He offers rest. Rest to those who humble themselves to walk with Him, judgment for those who choose to pursue life independently of Him.
The Book of Jonah – The first thing to note is that it was not acts of compassion that moved the Ninevites to respond to God’s message to them, it was the message itself – the threat of utter destruction if they did not repent.
Second, we should note that Israel was never commissioned to take God’s message to the nations. In the Old Testament, the nations would have to come to Israel if they wanted a relationship with God.
Because of the failure to recognize this Old Testament context, and the content of the book itself, we often miss the point of the book. Although God’s compassion on the people of Nineveh is quite evident, that is not the point. If it were, that point was made at the end of chapter 3. To understand this, consider this question – How does Jonah’s reaction to Nineveh’s repentance, and God’s decision to spare them strike you? Does it fit with what you would expect? I find it unsettling. Consider. In 4:2 we discover that Jonah knew God’s character well enough that he anticipated this outcome, and so, actively sought to thwart God’s plan by running away. Instead of representing God, he rebelled and actively opposed God, becoming angry at God when He persisted in showing compassion on the Ninevites. And that is the point. The book of Jonah is an indictment against the Israelites, who, as represented by Jonah, persisted in their hard-hearted rebellion, even in situations in which utter pagans, as represented by the sailors and the Ninevites, responded in contrition and worship. Even pagans were more responsive to God than His own people.
So, in answer to your question, “If God loves us, shouldn’t we reflect His attributes?”, I would say that the testimony of Scripture is, “Yes.” But that means reflecting all of His attributes, not just mercy.
Regarding the question of “pagans fulfilling their job description” – I would state that differently. I would say that they are acting out of their nature, or character. And I do find that Christians are often surprised when pagans act like pagans, which is, in itself odd. But I would not characterize it as fulfilling a “job description”. That implies that they are actually made responsible to act the way they do, presumably by God. And that is not true. They are acting out of their nature, not their obligation, and the only solution is the transformation of their nature.
As for the responsibilities of Christians, it is true that one of the metaphors used to describe Christians is “ambassador”. And, the role of an “ambassador” is to “represent” another. And, this representation takes the form of the delivery of messages from the one being represented. These messages are sometimes positive and sometimes negative. If the ambassador truly represents another, he must represent all aspects of that other. And, while his character can never be allowed to undermine the message, it is not the message.
So, as Christians, our role is to deliver Christ’s message to the world around us, both the positive AND negative aspects of the message. If we only deliver the positive side, we are not ambassadors, we are editors. In the delivery of this message, we must make sure that our character does not undermine the message, but our character is not the message itself.
Which brings us to the passage that this article deals with, and the question of how we validate this message we are charged with delivering. We have assumed that we validate it by doing nice things for the recipients and making them like us, so they will listen to the message. This was not what Christ said. He said that the message would be validated by the unity that flows out of believer’s love for one another. I think one of our greatest failures as Christians lies in this area.
Regarding the notion that “God is love”. Clearly that is scriptural, and we are to reflect that to the people around us. The point of this series of articles is to recognize the fact that “love”, at least as we typically understand it, does not completely define God’s character, and that there are other attributes, like righteousness and justice, that must be reflected as well, as we have seen in several of the passages you mentioned.
So, let’s continue this discussion by looking at the next passage, which is the story of the Samaritan.