The Standard of Perfect Love

Why You should literally Look at the World Upside Down

Trevin Wax

It’s a figure of speech to look at things “upside down” in order to get some perspective. But what if there’s more here than just a clever turn of phrase? What if we can’t actually see our world in proper perspective unless we’ve seen it upside down?

This is precisely the point that G. K. Chesterton makes in his biography of Francis of Assisi. Seeing the world upside down means seeing its utter dependence on God, and with that sense of dependence comes a greater love for this world because of the adventure of its own existence. He writes:

If a man saw the world upside down, with all the trees and towers hanging head downwards as in a pool, one effect would be to emphasize the idea of dependence. There is a Latin and literal connection; for the very word dependence only means hanging. It would make vivid the Scriptural text which says that God has hanged the world upon nothing. If St. Francis saw in one of his strange dreams, the town of Assisi upside down, it need not have differed in a single detail from itself except in being entirely the other way round. But the point is this: that whereas to the normal eye the large masonry of its walls or the massive foundations of its watchtowers and its high citadel would make it seem safer and more permanent, the moment it was turned over the very same weight would make it seem more helpless and more in peril. It is but a symbol; but it happens to fit the psychological fact.

St. Francis might love his little town as much as before, or more than before; but the nature of the love would be altered even in being increased. He might see and love every tile on the steep roofs or every bird on the battlements; but he would see them all in a new and divine light of eternal danger and dependence. Instead of being merely proud of his strong city because it could not be moved, he would be thankful to God Almighty that it had not been dropped; he would be thankful to God for not dropping the whole cosmos like a vast crystal to be shattered into falling stars. Perhaps St. Peter saw the world so, when he was crucified head-downwards.

What happens when our love for God and the world increases in proportion to our realization of utter dependence on God?

Seeing the world upside down is not a trick. It is not an illusion or the result of an overactive imagination. Recognizing the world’s awesomeness and fragility — this grandeur held together by the breath of the Creator — is seeing reality. Ordinariness is the delusion of self-sufficiency; when we look at the world upside down, we actually see it right side up.

BIG IDEA: Learning to see the world upside down enables you to see it right side up.

Luke 10:25–37 ESV

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

INTRODUCTION

The questioning of a certain legal expert about what is required to inherit eternal life, prompts Jesus’ telling of one of the more famous parables in scripture. The man immediately begins by asking what is required to have eternal life. After some discussion ensued of the law, Jesus affirms that the lawyer is on the right track but understanding love for God and others as the most essential requirement. However, the lawyer wants to know just how far his love for his neighbor must go!

This parable requires great care not to over allegorize it as some have been guilty of doing in the past. However, I believe we also must be careful that we do not oversimplify the parable missing it’s deeper meaning.

NOTE: Remember in Jesus parables that they are open to those who have ears to hear. It is in the hearing that the true message is revealed.

10:25 The lawyers’s question on how to receive eternal life is asked twice in Luke’s Gospel, the second one is in 18:18. A first century layers would have been well versed in Judaism and was an expert in the Law of Moses.

10:26 Jesus now returns with a question of his own. The lawyers response in 10:27 shows that Jesus’ question is basically, “What is at the heart or the deeper meaning of the law.” (we tend to look on the service and miss the deeper things of God) Notice the Lawyer gives the text book answer not the deeper meaning behind the command.

10:27 Even though the lawyer’s answer is a direct quote from Deuteronomy 6:5, the man’s answer is probably a summary of the whole ten commandments. The first four commandments are all summarized in “loving God” and the last six, deal with our human relationships, he summarized with “love your neighbor.”

10:28 Jesus is satisfied with the lawyers answer and admonishes him to go and live accordingly.

NOTE: The conversation could have ended here with Jesus admonishing the lawyer to go and live out the greatest commandment. Here is where the rub comes for the layer and for us. We all lack the ability to perfectly love God and love people. Do we not? So, the point here is that it cannot be done, it is impossible. The whole reason for Jesus coming was to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

10:29 Apparently within the lawyers own response to Jesus question got the wheels to turning in his little lawyer like brain, “he wishes to justify himself” however, he fears that he might fall short of loving his neighbor as himself. Possibly he wants to see if he can be justified by merely loving other devout Jews or showing benevolence when it is convenient.

NOTE: I think it is interesting that he is just concerned about how he fulfills the loving his neighbor part and not loving God perfectly. What the Lawyer fails to see is that the two are intricately woven together. It appears that like the rich young ruler he had tied the keeping of the levitical laws as loving God well.

The Law demands that we love like this all the time.

Jesus response to the lawyers answer should have compelled him to plead for grace and mercy at the throne of God. We have not hope at all under the law. The only thing that the law can do for us is doom us. The law demands absolute and utter godlike perfection, no one who has ever sinned is fit for eternal life on the law’s terms.

Even those who have had the “love of God” poured out on their hearts do not consistently love like the law demands.

3 Principles of Perfect Love

1. He Saw Him

How we see shows how we have been seen

Something in his heart went out to the man - a sense of sadness, grief, tenderhearted empathy.

Note: We do not know how long the man had been laying on the roadside waiting for help. The man quiet possibly could have been near death when the Samaritan saw him.

Many times Jesus pointed out that people have eyes to see but they do not really see. Notice that the difference between the Samaritan and the priest and the Levite was that he had eyes to see.

*The spiritual eyes of the heart lead us to compassion.

Have you had the spiritual eyes of your heart opened? If not what has kept your heart closed from seeing and being seen?

Note: Remember Jesus said that they will know we are Christian by the love we dispense to others.

John 13:34-35: Jesus gave a new commandment that we love others: just as He has loved us, and by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love (compassion the greatest picture of love) for one another.

This was nothing new with God’s people to struggle with hearing and seeing.

Isaiah 6:9 ESV

9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

The first man: to come by was a priest, however, not knowing whether the man was alive or dead could not be discerned without touching him which would then make him defiled and unable to fulfill his duty as a priest until he could be purified. Notice, not only did he not help the man but he went to the other side of the road to insure that there was not even a perception that he had helped him.

The second man: Was a Levite who was also more concerned with maintaining ceremonial purity. He also thought it better not to have anything to do with such a man.

The Third man: Jesus introduction of a Samaritan man had to be a twist in the story that no one anticipated. A Samaritan would have been the last person that would have been expected to help. Why?

The Samaritans a Hated People from History

Someone who helps other people has been called a “Good Samaritan.” But what is a Samaritan.

Samaritans were a group of people in the Bible who lived in the area of Israel following the Assyrian conquest. They survived through the time of Jesus, and even, in limited numbers, to the present day.

The hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans takes center stage in the gospels.

After King Solomon ruled over Israel - God’s people - the unwise actions of hi son Rehoboam in the tenth century BC led to a split in the Kingdom, so, now you had the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Both Kingdoms fell into sin and corruption, despite repeated warnings by the prophets sent by God. God had warned them that they would be overtaken by foreign rulers. The Northern kingdom fared worse than the Southern Kingdom, with a long line of wicked rulers. It didn’t help that the temple, where God’s people were to worship, was located in the Southern Kingdom. (remember the woman at the well who had an encounter with Jesus, she was a Samaritan and asked Jesus where they should worship)

In 721 BC the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians. Many people of Israel were led of to Assyria as captives, but some remained in the land and intermarried with foreigners planted there by the Assyrians. These half-Jewish, half-Gentile people were known as the Samaritans.

In 526 B.C.. the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonian Empire once and for all, as the walls of Jerusalem were breached, the temple was destroyed, and the city walls torn down.

In the 5th century B.C. Babylon had given way to the Persian Empire. Nehemiah, a Jew gained favor with the king and was allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. However, the Samaritans remaining in the land opposed the rebuilding efforts and caused problems for Nehemiah, and his workers. This was the beginning of a long-lasting hatred between Jews and Samaritans. Samaria today is in what is known as the nothern West Bank. Several hundred Samaritans still live there and worship on Mount Gerizim.

To the Jew a Samaritan was more revolting than a Gentile (pagan).

NOTE: So, the man asking the question really didn’t want to expand who his neighbor was, he wanted to restrict who his neighbor was, and justify himself. Instead Jesus flipped the question. He used the backdrop of the Jews hatred for the Samaritans to show that everyone was his neighbor, even those considered an enemy.

*The Spiritual Eyes of the Heart lead us to Mercy

*We have been shown great mercy.

Matthew 12 (Jesus and his followers are going through a grain field on the Sabath)

His disciples were hungry so they reached down and plucked up some of the grain and ate it. The Pharisees said, look what you followers are doing is unlawful to do on the Sabath. Now, Jesus reminded him what David did when he was on the run from Saul, how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presence which was reserved only for the priest.

Jesus proclaimed something greater than the temple is here among you. The Jesus said, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”

2. He Bore the injured man’s burden as if it were his own

How we bear burdens shows how we have been Carried

To Bear one another’s burden is to fulfill the law Christ.

Galatians 6:2 ESV

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Are People becoming less Empathetic as a culture?

Can Pain cultivate Empathy in Us? (Christianity Today)

When you have been at the depth of your pain and struggle, have you ever questioned what gave one friend an insight into how I was feeling at that moment?

Empathy unlike sympathy, is not merely feeling sorry for another, but it is putting yourself into another peoples shoes. It is envisaging what it must feel like to be in their position. In your hour of greatest need has someone showed you the true value of empathetic compassion?

Not everyone has empathetic friends. In fact, there is a growing concerning that Americans are growing less empathetic. This is troubling because empathy is a cornerstone of a healthy society, more than that it is at the very marrow of what it means to be a Christian.

Even more alarming is a recent study done of incoming college students were found to be up to 40 percent less empathetic than previous generations. We can observe those who have undergone painful circumstances tend to be more empathetic. The question we must ask is do we need pain in order to be empathetic? The answer is yes, but you must guard against underestimating significant pain levels. It can be difficult to understand another s suffering without having gone through a similar situation.

However, it would be a mistake to think that we must experience the same kind or level of pain to be able to empathize. Other studies have shown that stress or discomfort alone makes a difference. But on the other side of that coin, does a life of ease and comfort make us less empathetic?

*Love isn’t content with feelings it presses through to action.

Empathy: The scriptures to empathy as the capacity to feel another persons feelings, thoughts or attitude vicariously. The Apostle Peter counseled Christians to have “compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted and courteous.

True empathy is the feeling of actually participating in the suffering of another.

1 Peter 3:8 ESV

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

There are times we need to just sit with our brother’s and sisters and carry their burden.

Romans 12:15 ESV

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Here is what the Apostle John asked.

1 John 3:17 ESV

17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

EXAMPLES OF EMPATHY IN SCRIPTURE

Jesus was always sensitive to the struggles of others. Matthew tells us how when Jesus saw the crowds he had great compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) On another occasion Jesus observed a widow going to bury her only son. Sensing her pain his heart overflowed with compassion as He approached the funeral procession and resurrected the young man. Having lived a human life we know that we have a Lord who does empathize with all of our weaknesses and humanness because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

NOTE: No one will ever see what God is like unless we start showing that love with the way we bear others burdens.

Let me tell you about the week before we were going into the journey building. The general contractor had walked out on the job and had not finished the building. The place was a mess, there was paint left all over the floor, I was physically, emotionally and spiritually spent.

I left the next week to take my son to Boy Scout camp having no idea how all of this was going to bet done. While I was gone, this guy, Eric Swan sensed my anxiety and the burden that I was carrying. He called all of the Journey people together and while I was away they all come up and worked together cleaning paint that was spilled all over the floor. Paining the walls, getting everything ready for worship the next Sunday.

When I got home something told me to stop by the Church building before I came home. I walked in the door and almost fell out, everything was cleaned and ready for us to start our first worship service in the new building. It started with someone seeing the burden I was bearing and decided to take the burden and bear it with me. This is what the Church is all about.

How often in Church life do we come into a Church body and forget that part of our job is bear one another’s burdens.

3. He shows us what limitless love looks like

Jesus is describing a rare kind of love that has no limits. Keep in mind that this is also a sort of backhanded reply to the lawyer’s original question in Luke 10:25 “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer goes like this:

How we love shows how we have been loved

Note: He went to the man, this is opposite of the priest and Levite who went out of their way to avoid the man. Notice as well that for the Samaritan there was never a question of is this man my neighbor or not.

NOTE: The question from the layer was, what do I do to inherit eternal life, or possibly a more underlying question is what is required for the entrance fee to everlasting life.

“Love ..... your neighbor as yourself” (v.27)

“You have answered rightly; do this and you will live” (v. 28).

Jesus told this parable to show what an impossible high standard the law sets for us.

Cultural Note: Here is where the rub comes with the desire to love and be loved. We experience different levels of love from parents, siblings, friends and others. But most of us also want that special someone we can share a deeper level of love. Finding true love is difficult, and its often hard to understand why. I think it all comes down to what is your definition of true love? Understanding what we mean by “true love” can help us see what we are really seeking and why it is not working.

Most societies use the word love rather loosely. Love is often associated with intense feelings that, in truth, are self-centered and noncommittal. We see it through our pop-culture in movies, and reality drama’s. The Bible gives us a much different picture of love. True love is of God - in fact, He is love 1 John 4:8 - and He’s the one who put the need to love and be loved in us. We cannot truly understand or experience true love apart from God.

Remember the greatest commandment that the lawyer recited, to love God with all of your heart, soul, and might, but Jesus had added the second commandment to love our neighbor as our self. You see all love and mercy that we would show anyone is a direct reflection of how we show love to God.

*Limitless love should become common place in the Church

It is a rebuke not just to the Lawyer but to all of us. If we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, the Samaritans generosity would not seem that remarkable or out of place.

NOTE: The law demands that you love like this all the time. The law demands perfection all the time.

James 2:10 ESV

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

NOTE: In the following parable the Good Samaritan held nothing back from this stranger on the road. God has held nothing back from us by allowing his son to die on a cross. When we were enemies of God, enemies of the cross he died for us.

What things do we daily hold back from God. (money/possessions; time; allegiance; family; relationships; jobs; hobbies).

Love Marks the Church

Galatians 6:10 ESV

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The Spirit should compel us to bear burdens of others in the Church Family simply because they are one with us in Christ. We love others in the Church as Jesus loved us; we bear the burdens of their weakness, their sin, and their uncleanness. We see these burdens of our brothers and sisters not as impositions upon our life but as opportunities for our love.

NOTE: Now, the question that was asked was not about a “way of life,” but a “way to life.” What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

1st He must do as the great commandment tells him to do.

2nd He must go and do as the Samaritan has done.

Jesus tells him to do this and he will live, here is the rub, when it comes to eternal life there is no other subject where scripture is more clear that “no human being will be justified in the sight of God by works alone.” No one can perfectly do all that the law commands.

We often get so tied up in the story for this extraordinary act of kindness for a neighbor, that we forget this was Jesus’s scandalous twist to the story; He purposely twisted it around two groups of people whom his hearers knew to be not good neighbors at all, but intense enemies.

The greater picture here is in the impossibility of first fulfilling the law, and second inheriting the kingdom of our own.

LOOK at the situation following this parable. Jesus is invited to visit in the home of Mary and Martha. Mary sat at the Lords feet and listened to his teaching, Martha was distracted with much serving: that is what the way is not. Notice that Jesus indicates that one thing is “Necessary.”

When Jesus expects us to follow him all the way, he means not in religious activities undertaken in our own strength, but the total abandonment of ourselves to him.

THIS IS WHAT LEARNING TO SEE THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN, SO THAT WE CAN SEE IT RIGHT SIDE UP DOES.

CONCLUSION

Every detail of every aspect of our life is totally dependent on God.

Even an agnostic would say upon existence and the nature of things, this is not an illusion of his imagination; it is the fundamental fact that we go through life covering it up, as with curtains over a picture window, with the illusion of ordinary life as usual. That ordinary life isn’t so ordinary.

But it is in the ordinary every day aspects of life that God chooses to do the extraordinary.

How can you begin to see the world upside down, so that you can see things through His eyes?

LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU ARE.

You can only know the Love of God through His son Jesus Christ. 1 John 3:16

SHOW LOVE FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR IN CONCRETE WAYS.

A neighbor is anyone who see’s a need an moves to meet it. (talk is cheap love)

FOCUS YOUR LIVES ON GOD’S WORD NOT OBLIGATIONS

When we focus our lives on God’s word we begin to understand our total dependence on Him day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.