The command to love our neighbor is not just a call for a select few, or only to people in ministry, or even exclusive to those who are naturally nice. It’s a command of each and every one of us. And it’s also a command that we should heed each and every day. So how then are we as Milwaukee churches, with all our faults and limitations, to respond effectively? Let me share a couple of thoughts and a practical opportunity to take action:
1. You've got to be thoughtful about who your neighbor is.
We’ll get a fuller treatment of this subject on Sunday, but no doubt there’s a broad definition coming as to who our neighbor is. Therefore, to love our neighbor as God would have us do, we need to expand our view of who are our neighbors. Importantly, they are not just those we naturally come into contact with in our day-to-day lives.
2.Be mindful of God’s heart regarding neighborliness.
We honor and love God when we honor and love those who the world might view as “the least.” See, Matthew 25:31-46. God’s heart is moved when we interact with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. If you were here last year as we went through Amos and James, you saw the passion with which God wants us to embrace and care for today’s disadvantaged, disfavored and isolated. That passion should be our passion.
3.Be encouraged that loving your neighbor is great outreach.
Not much before going to the Cross, Christ declared that “all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” See, John13:35. Loving your neighbor in our world is remarkable and attractive. The world often writes off the Church as hypocritical in its abandonment of the disfavored – but takes note when we walk the talk. If I had more space to write, I could share with you how I’ve seen this play out time and time again – but I’m sure you have seen the truth in that played out in your own experience. So we invite anyone from any of the churches in Milwaukee to come to this event: http://www.epikos.org/events/comedy-with-impact-fish-sticks-comedy-isaac-witty/
4.Put yourself in position to love your neighbor.
You can’t love your neighbor from afar. And you can’t expect your neighbor to come to you. You have to go to them.
1. You've got to be thoughtful about who your neighbor is.
We’ll get a fuller treatment of this subject on Sunday, but no doubt there’s a broad definition coming as to who our neighbor is. Therefore, to love our neighbor as God would have us do, we need to expand our view of who are our neighbors. Importantly, they are not just those we naturally come into contact with in our day-to-day lives.
2.Be mindful of God’s heart regarding neighborliness.
We honor and love God when we honor and love those who the world might view as “the least.” See, Matthew 25:31-46. God’s heart is moved when we interact with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. If you were here last year as we went through Amos and James, you saw the passion with which God wants us to embrace and care for today’s disadvantaged, disfavored and isolated. That passion should be our passion.
3.Be encouraged that loving your neighbor is great outreach.
Not much before going to the Cross, Christ declared that “all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” See, John13:35. Loving your neighbor in our world is remarkable and attractive. The world often writes off the Church as hypocritical in its abandonment of the disfavored – but takes note when we walk the talk. If I had more space to write, I could share with you how I’ve seen this play out time and time again – but I’m sure you have seen the truth in that played out in your own experience. So we invite anyone from any of the churches in Milwaukee to come to this event: http://www.epikos.org/events/comedy-with-impact-fish-sticks-comedy-isaac-witty/
4.Put yourself in position to love your neighbor.
You can’t love your neighbor from afar. And you can’t expect your neighbor to come to you. You have to go to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment