Preserve Life

Life is a mystery and is sacred. It is a gift from heaven, having its source in the eternal and living God, who sustains it and determines its length and boundaries. He has crowned mankind above all other living creatures on earth with gifts of reason to contemplate the ways and works of His Maker, and has enriched his life with an eternal destiny. This earthly life is but a beginning, a preparation, and man has the power to mar it forever, but here, too, amid the challenges of life, grows an unfading rose of hope of eternal life through Christ Jesus the Lord.

Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Commandment is “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need” (Luther’s Small Catechism, p. 14). Which part of this commandment is easier to carry out, the positive or the negative? Is it easier to avoid hurting or harming or killing our neighbor, or is it easier to go out and “help and support him in every physical need”?

The Positive Aspect

Obviously, the positive side of the commandment is much more difficult, much more demanding, much more open-ended. We can avoid hitting and killing people, but how do we help them? But both the positive and the negative are included in each commandment, as Luther notes in his explanations. “Honor your father and your mother” is positive. What’s the negative form? Luther said, “Do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities.”

The Third Commandment also is positive: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” What’s the negative form? “Don’t skip church.” What’s the positive form of the Fifth Commandment?

Jesus himself laid that out in his discussion with the rich young man (Matthew 19). The man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (v 16). Jesus replied, “Keep the commandments. . . . You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (vv 17–19). The man replied, “All these I have kept” (v 20).

How could he say this? He was quite sincere. He really believed he had observed the Commandments fully. The man was looking only at one side of the Commandments. He didn’t recognize the wide-open, demanding positive side. He thought he could make himself acceptable to God by his wonderful life. Yet, deep inside, he knew something was wrong. That’s why he came to Jesus in the first place. He questioned that he could inherit eternal life this way.

Help and Sacrifice for Others

Jesus pushed him to recognize the impossibility of the game he was playing, the game the Pharisees had the whole nation playing. Jesus said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (v 21). Jesus took just the one commandment and spelled out what it means to fulfill it.

He took the Fifth Commandment and pointed out that it means more than not killing or hurting.

It means going out and helping.

It means sacrificing for the sake of others’ welfare.

It means thinking of others’ needs, not just your own.

It means “count[ing] others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3).

It means “look[ing] not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil 2:4).

That’s hard. That’s demanding. That’s impossible. And, that is precisely the point. It is impossible. The Commandments are not a game God gives us to play against impossible odds. He knows we cannot carry out his perfect will. “He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Ps 103:14). That’s why Jesus came and fulfilled all the Law’s demands in our place.

We admit every Sunday at the start of worship that we have sinned “by what we have done and by what we have left undone.” In fact, I were to speculate I would not be surprised if 99% of our sins are sins of omission, not sins of commission. It’s the thousands of good things we fail to do. We don’t see them. We pass right by because we are blinded and hardened by sin. We focus so sharply on ourselves that we don’t see the opportunities to help and befriend people every day, even in our own home and workplace.

We confess, “We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” We have loved ourselves first and foremost and unfailingly. What have we ever really sacrificed for the sake of others in need? Even what we have given hasn’t really dented our pocketbook. We hardly missed it. We haven’t come close to carrying out this commandment: “Sell what you possess and give to the poor.” And that’s why we honestly confess, “We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment.”

We Cling to Christ!

That’s also why we boldly and devoutly cling to Christ: “For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us.” Jesus came to bring us that perfect, eternal mercy from God. The game is over. It need never be played again. Jesus played it and won. He was the perfect sacrifice for sin in our place. Now we just exult in his total, free acceptance.

Because Christ Fulfills the Law for Us, We Can Love Our Neighbor with His Perfect Love.

In spite of all our sin and rebellion and weakness, we are accepted. We are welcomed into his presence. He calls us his own, rebels though we are. And then he sends us out to spread his kingdom of love. He sends us to be his arms of mercy in a hurting world. He teaches us to pray, “Our Father, . . . give us this day our daily bread.” We pray not just for our own needs but for the needs of all God’s children, of all our brothers and sisters around the world, especially the poor. We look for ways to help and befriend our poor brothers in all their bodily need.

How Can I Help and Support My Neighbor?

If we shrink the earth’s population to a village of one hundred, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, there would be fifty-seven Asians, twenty-one Europeans, fourteen North and South Americans, and eight Africans. Fifty percent of the entire village’s wealth would be in the hands of only six people, and all six would be citizens of the United States. Seventy would be unable to read, fifty would suffer from malnutrition, and eighty would live in substandard housing. Only one would have a college education.

This commandment literally means “Do not murder.” It has been calculated that we could solve the world’s hunger problem if we would redirect one-tenth of what nations spend on armaments. World poverty is a political problem, not an economic one. Am I part of a political economic system that murders the poor? It’s a small world.

Who is my neighbor? How can I “help and support him in every physical need” as Jesus did? Am I willing to sacrifice some of my comforts so that others can have basic necessities? These are the questions of this commandment.