Love People
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HAVE YOU EVER MET SOMEONE THAT WAS HARD TO LOVE?
HAVE YOU EVER MET SOMEONE THAT WAS HARD TO LOVE?
LEGACY RECAP
LOVE GOD
LOVE PEOPLE
MAKE AN IMPACT
28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
IT’S INTERESTING HOW JESUS SAYS THAT LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR IS JUST AS IMPORTANT. IN FACT OTHER TRANSLATIONS AND IN THE OTHER GOSPELS IT’S SOMETIMES WRITTEN THAT HE SAID “AND THE SECOND IS JUST AS IMPORTNAT”
IT’S ALMOST AS IF JESUS IS SAYING “YOU CANNOT LOVE GOD AND NOT LOVE PEOPLE”.
TO DO THE FIRST CORRECTLY YOU HAVE TO ALSO BE DOING THE SECOND.
BUT THIS IS KIND OF A PROBLEM IS IT NOT? BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST SO HARD OT LOVE.
come on you know what im talking about. That person in your family that when they text that they can’t make it to the function you’re like “ohhhh noooo.... darn....” or that friend.
BUT JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR. IN ORDER THE FULLY LOVE GOD CORRECTLY. YOU HAVE TO ALSO LOVE PEOPLE. WHY? BECAUSE GOD LOVES THEM.
THERE’S ANOTHER STORY ABOUT AN INTERACTION JESUS HAS WHERE THIS TOPIC IS BROUGHT UP
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” 28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
WE WANT NEIGHBOR DEFINED
Like “God… whoooo do I have to love or go out of my way for”
Does it include people that change their pronouns?
What about democrats?
Republicans?
What about Alabama fans?
GOD HOW UNCOMFORTABLE WILL YOU REALLY MAKE ME?
GOD YOU’RE SAYING IM SUPPOSED TO LOVE PEOPLE.... MY NEIGHBOR.... CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC FOR ME?
YOU AND I DO THIS IN OTHER THINGS. LIKE WHEN IS SIN REALLY SIN?
How close can I get to the line before it’s actually a sin?
God you say that He who gives up his life will find it but… whatchu mean?
You say to take up my cross and die to myself but surely you wouldn’t be that extreme.
NOW TO BE FAIR… this is a fair question. Jesus you say love my neighbor, so do you mean literally the people living in the homes near me? Because what if I move am I not required to love those people anymore? Like i’m off the hook? OR DO YOU MEAN SOMETHING ELSE?
30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
NOT MY PROBLEM
This is for someone else
Surely someone else will see this and fix it
It’s like grocery carts that aren’t put back in the cart return
(Double it and give it to the next person)
THERE ARE PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS THAT HISTORICALLY THE CHURCH HAS AVOIDED. AND IN THAT WAY DECIDED NOT TO LOVE.
Because when you love like Jesus is calling us to love, it get’s messy. You have to step into some messy situations.
Like people who have gone through divorce. There is a negative view in a lot of churches on divorce. The Bible is clear that God doesn’t like divorce. But there are churches that it doesn’t matter the reason you are now unlove-able.
What about people who get pregnant but their not married. I remember the church I grew up in there was a couple in this exact situation and there was more rumors than help offered.
Because loving people who are not like you, or who do things you don’t agree with, or that even do things the Bible doesn’t agree with is messy.
Jesus is trying to paint a picture here of people, who that society at the time would have said were great a respectable people and that they wouldn’t help someone in need.
33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
GOD LOVES THEM JUST AS MUCH AS HE LOVES YOU
You.
Here’s what you have to know. God loved you so much. knowing the stuggles you would have. The addicitons you would have. The problems you have, the mistakes you’ve made and will made that he sent his son to die for you. Messed up you.
And he also sent his son to die for the people you feel like don’t deserve it.
IF YOU WORSHIP AT CHURCH
IF YOU GO ON MISSION TRIPS AND SHARE THE GOSPEL
IF YOU SERVE AT CHURCH
THAT’S ALL AMAZING. AND THAT IS LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR.
BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR ACTUAL PHYSICAL NEIGHBOR?
WHAT ABOUT THAT FAMILY MEMBER?
WHAT ABOUT THAT FRIEND?
Loving your neighbor oversees on a missions trip does not now negate the fact that you are still called to love others around you.
It’s not like “Oh I got my good deed done for the year now I can stop loving people” no!
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES WHO ARE METAPHORICALLY PASSED OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND WE KEEP WALKING BY THINKING “SOMEONE WILL HELP EVENTUALLY”. OR “I’LL PRAY FOR THEM”
AND LISTEN PRAYER IS GOOD. YOU SHOULD PRAY. BUT IF YOU ARE MOVED TO DO SOMETHING, AND IT FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE, IT COULD BE THE HOLY SPIRIT CALLING YOU TO ACT IN LOVE, AND IGNORING THAT IS DISOBEDIENCE.
A LOT OF US USE PRAYER TO PASS THE RESPONSIBILITY BACK TO GOD. GOD YOU DO SOMETHING. THEN IF IT DOESN’T HAPPEN WE CAN GO ON SAYING IT’S HIS FAULT NOT OURS
AS BELIEVERS WE HAVE TO BE A PEOPLE THAT WHEN WE SEE SOMETHING WE DO SOMETHING.