“Teacher, what do I have to do so that I will live forever?”
This is the question asked by a lawyer to Jesus. It is worded simply enough but to “live forever” sounds like a very big deal that will take an enormous amount of effort on our part and an enormous amount of grace on God’s part. When Jesus asks what the lawyer has already learned about this, the answer the lawyer offers to Jesus is so simple as to be stunning:
“You must love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you must love your neighbor just as you love yourself.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Jesus said, “And if you do that you will live forever.”
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that make the biggest difference and sometimes the simplest ideas produce the best solution. Jesus continues to tell the lawyer the parable of the good Samaritan. This is a fine example of a “good neighbor”, someone who selflessly cares for others, who sees a need and addresses it, sees a problem and finds a solution. I’m sure I’ve mentioned a couple of times in my blog the idea that we should be living our lives, as Jesus did, entirely for others. But that is a very hard concept for us because we have become innately selfish in our thoughts, in our words and in our deeds. There are people to whom we look for good examples of love for others, such as Mother Theresa who wouldn’t even eat her food on a cross Atlantic flight but instead gave it to someone who needed it when she landed. This is a very small and simple act of caring for her neighbor. It didn’t even take her a step off her traveling path to do this for someone. For Mother Theresa it didn’t even require a special effort of thought because she always thought of others first, herself last.
For us it requires practice to train our minds to love GOD with all our hearts, mind, soul and strength and love others as we love ourselves. To do this we have to first sever our dependence on the world around us. We have adopted a belief that we cannot make a difference, we cannot change the world, we cannot save the millions of lives that need saving every day from all kinds of danger, illness, injury, poverty, hunger and oppression. Those are very, very big problems and one human person cannot solve them. Well I submit that one person at a time we can solve those problems. What would happen if every person on Earth helped just one other person today? One person cannot run around the globe and help every single person who is in need but one person can help another person who can help another and so on and so on…And remember that anything you do for someone who is hungry, thirsty, cold, etc. you do for our Lord Jesus. He did not concern himself with food, clothing and shelter while He was here among us in human flesh. He trusted to God to provide what he needed which allowed him to concentrate on helping and teaching in the short time that he had to do so. Our time is short, too. We do not live forever in these bodies in this life in this world. We have a little time to make a difference in some way that helps the entire family of man.
Don’t forget that even a kind word in a timely moment can save a life today. Love is free. The more you give it away, the more you have to give. The more you love, the easier it becomes to love. The more you give of yourself, the easier it becomes to think and act for others selflessly. Your acts of love are witnessed by others who are influenced to do like deeds. The less you rely on the world around us to meet your physical and emotional needs the more you will turn to God for those provisions and God is generous and His gifts are lasting.
The Psalm this week is Psalm 69: Turn to The Lord In Your Need. This link will take you to a recorded version of the song and the lyrics can be found in the Breaking Bread hymnal, #790.
Refrain: Turn to God in your need. Turn to God in your need, you shall live! You shall live!
V 1: This is my prayer to you; favor my plea. In your great love, O God, answer me. Come with your help and your kindness, I pray; be merciful. Turn my way.
V 2: Here in my poverty, haunted by pain, I beg you hear me, raise me again. Sweet is your name on my heart taking wing. Lifted in glory, I sing.
V3: The poor ones shall see when you rescue my life; their hearts, full of hope, will revive. O God, hear the needy, and do not disdain your servants who weep in chains.
V4: “Who Never Forgets” will bring Zion to bloom, God who is faithful will build us anew. Our daughters and sons will receive from God’s hand this heritage: holy land.
God bless you and have a loving and giving week!