In
a restaurant the other day I sat near a table of men who were talking like they
were men of the Christian faith, they discussed several topics during the
course of their meal concerning different doctrines in the holy bible; this is
why I formed the opinion that they were men of faith. One of the gentlemen
brought up the fact that he and his wife were celebrating their anniversary, he
said they had been married a certain number of years, which indeed happened to
be a great number of years—something that does not happen too much anymore in
our society today. The other men at this table commented on this abnormally
long stretch of years for a marriage to last and gave their congratulations to
the happy man who has lived a lifetime of marital bliss, then another man at
the table was asked how many years he had been married and he too announced
that he has been married for a great number of years just like the other man.
Sitting
there was another guy who added his part to the conversation saying that his
marriage only lasted a few years, then he was separated and divorce
from the woman he had married, his face revealed kind of a shameful confession,
and regret was evident in the tone of his voice. Another man at this breakfast gathering
made what sounded like a sarcastic remark as to why this guys marriage did not
last so the divorcé explained that his wife left him because of his devotion to
Christ, it seemed like he was suffering a brief moment of sadness as he went on
to explain further another fact about his marriage breakdown. As I looked I began
to notice that the other men at the table started to turn their attention away from this
man who was opening up about the sadness he still felt over this unfortunate
incident in his life, the look on their faces revealed that they wanted to get
as far away from this conversation as they possibly could, they started to get
fidgety, one looking down into his lap, one gave his attention to a woman who
entered the restaurant, while another stared at the wall in the opposite
direction of the man who dared share his experience of martial breakdown.
The
atmosphere at this Christian fellowship table started to get quite eerie. I was
not the only one who noticed the change in the atmosphere because the man who was
reminiscing a time of sadness noticed it too, he noticed that his breakfast
buddies were not in the least interested about the unfortunate experience he
once endured, he noticed that they were acting as if they were down right uncomfortable,
so he quickly began to hold back the thoughts he was sharing and changed the
subject.
I
thought, how sad it is that these men who are of the Christian faith were not
at all interested in the way this man was feeling at this moment, did they not
even have enough respect for him to give him a brief moment of their undivided
attention as he was expressing a hurtful time in his past. Is the Christian
faith not to be an expression of love one to another, even if a brother happens
to share something that may be a little bit uncomfortable to his hearers? It
was blatantly obvious to my on looking eyes, and I am sure to the eyes looking
down from above, that these men were not at all interested in the sad moment that
their brother was reminiscent about. All I could think about after this was
whether or not this group truly cared for this guy, whether or not they had any
love for him.
God
is different from the scene that I witnessed at that table on that day, for
there is no love lacking in his character or in his actions. He revealed his love
for man, even every guy who was seated at that table, by sending his Son into
this world to give his life as a sacrifice for all the sins of men (Jn.3:16),
Jesus even taught that love is paramount for anyone who would follow him
(Matt.5:43-46); his rule is that you cannot only love the Lord God but you must
also love anyone who is your neighbour, the same way that you love yourself
(Matt.22:37-40). Before he left his disciples to go to the cross Jesus gave them
this important edict to follow: “A new mitzvah I give to you, that you love one
another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another” (Jn.13:34,
HNV). He then followed up with the fact that if anyone who claims to be his follower
than love would be the determining factor in the judgement of men to whether
you truly do belong to him (Jn.13:35).
The
Apostle Paul was a great man of God who was used to spread the message of God
to the Gentile world, he made sure that he preached loved to his converts
because love is essential to the Christian faith, if you do not love you cannot
be a follower of this Jesus, whom he preached: “Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. In love of the brothers
be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another”
(Rom.12:9-10, HNV). The apostle also preached that you could be the most
spiritually gifted person in the church, but if you come up short in love than your
gifts are of no value (1Cor.13:1-2). Surely the same, you may be the biggest
giver in your congregation, you can even sacrifice your body to the enemies of
the cross, but if love is not an expression of your actions than all you do
does not gain you one ounce of reward; Paul taught that all you do must be done
in a spirit of love (1Cor.16:14).
The
Apostle John was a very straight forward person, he did not care to tickle the
ears of men, even when writing on the subject of Christian love, writing that
we can determine who the children of God are and who the children of the evil
one are, the determining factor between the two families are that the one who
is a child of God will undoubtedly love his brother, while the child of the
evil one will not (1Jn.3:10); this is the message that has been preached from
the beginning of the church that the family of God should love one another
(1Jn.3:11). If you have ever had doubts whether you are a child of God or not,
whether you have received eternal life or not, for some struggle with this
issue, then survey your attitude toward those who are called the brothers, do
your actions express love to the brethren, even the lowliest of the brethren,
because if you do not love your brother in Christ than you still abide in
darkness (1Jn.3:14). Do you want to love your brother, then lay your life down
for him, Christ gave you the example (1Jn.3:16); don’t ignore your brother when
he is pouring his heart out to you.
My
thought returns to Paul again, he analyzed what love truly is and preached it
to his converts, writing it down for you and me in these final days of the
church age, saying that love is always patient and kind, it is never envious of
another human individual, neither does it show itself off or puff itself up.
Love is not rude or selfish, it is not easily provoked or made uncomfortable at
someone else’s expression of sadness (1Cor.13:4-5c). Love is even more than all
these things but you can further your study on love and look the rest up for
yourself (1Cor.13:5d-13), if you truly want to be a person that is a walking
expression of love.
As
each day goes by in this fast paced world the time is flying by like a train
speeding down the track to make its next destination on time, the time is short,
the trumpet is about to sound, the church is going to be caught up to meet the
Lord in the air. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that God would make their
love for each other increase, even that it would overflow, not just for one
another but even for those outside of their own congregation (1Thess.3:12). He
also prayed that God would strengthen their hearts, which implies make them
strong in love, so that they would be free from fault, be pure in heart, in the
presence of the Father when the Lord comes to rapture his church (1Thess.3:13).
Does this mean we Christians should be more tolerant, patient, and kind, when a
brother expresses a moment of grief? I think maybe it does if we want to
express brotherly love.
