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Christ’s Challenge to Christians
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3-5) “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16)
Both history and the present day are full of examples of how selfish ambition and vain conceit cause people to arrogantly and recklessly ignore, disrespect the humanity of, and even demonize other human beings. “My way or the highway isn’t “the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus Christ is, and He laid down His life for us.
Jesus challenged us to: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27036)
Now that’s a challenge! Do you have the courage to embrace it?
The very first thing i thought of was Philippians 2:3,4!
I appreciate so much this focus on the “second half” of the Gospel. I first heard this term when I read The Saving Life of Christ by Major Ian Thomas. It’s a powerful Biblical study on the life of Christ in us and through us.
Thank you JD for leading us through this most excellent journey through 1 John.
Walt asks the question why do I get so stuck on myself interest. That’s an easy one. Because you are human being with flesh and blood. Maslow’s basic needs. If you don’t eat you die if you don’t drink you die if you don’t have shelter from natural disasters you die.
If you don’t have money to pay for these things, and there’s nobody else giving money to pay for these things, where will the things come from?
And you can turn the word money into work if wanted. The point is there’s a transaction required to stay alive.
So far as I can tell they’re only a few occasions in the Bible where God provides food water and shelter without work.
So the endpoint here is that God knows we all have these needs. And we need to know that all those around us have these needs. And keep that in mind because we’re all in the same boat. Don’t lie cheat or steal from others who also have needs.
I believe that the world’s definition of love is one of the greatest challenges the Church faces today, as the world’s definition of love for many has replaced the scripture’s definition of love. It is my observation that when Christians speak of love, too often other Christians and those outside the church are thinking in terms of the Mirriam-Webster definition of love rather than the scriptural definition of love. It leads to a lot of talking past one another. I am constantly trying to remind my church family that love is a verb. It is not about feelings or emotions. It is about what we do to allow Christ to be revealed through the actions of our lives. It is, as 1 John 3:16 says, laying down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If God is love, as 1 John 4:8 declares, Christians must be conscientious to define love God’s way so as not to proclaim a false gospel to the world. We cannot forget about the holy nature of the love we are to express. I sometimes wonder if we need to coin a new English word to differentiate holy love from worldly love. If the Greek language has at least four different words for love (eros, agape, phila, and storge), and other languages have far more than that, why does the English language only have one?
Missed your Dad today