Crazy love
Peace be with you,
I'm reading a tremendous book right now by Brother Andrew, author of "God's Smuggler" (which by the way is also a tremendous book, about Brother Andrew's work behind the Iron Curtain smuggling in Bibles to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union). It's called "Light Force," about the Christians in the Middle East and their struggle in the conflict. It's a very challenging and encouraging book. One paragraph especially challenged me:
[Someone asked Brother Andrew what he's learned in his years in the Middle East--] What had I learned? Well, there were a few important lessons. I verbalized one of them: "There are no terrorists--only people who need Jesus."
Johan had heard me say things like this many times, but that was a shock to my American friend. "I'm serious," I said. "If I see them as enemies, how can I reach them? I've often said, if you see a terrorist with a gun, get close to him, put your arm around him, and then he can't shoot you. As long as we see any person - Muslim, Communist, terrorist - as an enemy, then the love of God cannot flow through us to reach him. Each of us has a choice. I can go to terrorists and love them into the Kingdom. And the moment I love them, they are no longer my enemy. You don't hate a friend."
Did God love David? He was a murderer and an adulterer. Did God love Paul? He was a murderer too, a persecutor of the Church. What about the people of Nineveh in Jonah's days, whose wickedness had "come up before" God like a stench. If God loved them, then who are we to say we should not love them as well? 1 John 4:20-21 says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
At this moment, we are so tempted to ask as the expert in the law did to Jesus, "And why is my neighbor?" Who is our brother? Even Muslims? Even Arabs? Even "terrorists"? Does 1 John mean we just have to love Christians, or just our family, or just Americans? Jesus' response to the expert in the law was the story of the Samaritan who had mercy while the religious leaders passed by on the other side. He expanded the man's vision of who he was called to love and show mercy to. Are we willing to do the same?
The more I see the conflict in the Holy Land, the more I see the power of Jesus' teachings in this context. I learned a song based on the words above in 1 John that a dear African-American sister in the Lord taught me in Lebanon, which usually made my eyes tear up when I sang it. We as humans are so divided, so torn up by sin and all the conflict it's produced ever since Cain and Abel--so separated from God by this sin. But God came to reconcile us to Himself on the cross, and to reconcile us to each other (2 Cor. 5). What good does it do to call ourselves Christians if we do not love the people right in our midst?
I was talking to a friend of mine here, a Palestinian who's lived in the US a lot. He was telling me how one day an Israeli missile dropped through his apartment, in a spot where he'd been standing just moments before. (Praise God, he was all right.) And he thought, "You know, I've talked to American Christians, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, who give money to Israel to defend itself, so they go and buy these bombs. So this bomb that almost killed me could have been paid for by my brother in the Lord." Do people realize where all the bombs they drop go? Do people know where the bullets hit? How will people feel on Judgment Day, when they have to make an account of all the bombs and bullets they sent to destroy homes and lives? We rain down judgment on others, on "terrorists" and people who "hate freedom," but what will we say if God measures us with the same measurement? "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
Oh, but how can I say these things, challenge the Church with the words of Her Bridegroom, without falling into the same trap myself? Am I too not guilty of judging Christian Zionists, judging American evangelical militaristic nationalists? Do I not make the exact same mistakes as them? The only place I have to turn is the cross, where my sins were paid for in love. What is the verse right before the one I quoted in 1 John? It says, "We love because He first loved us."
If loving people, especially loving people who have hurt us or those close to us, were easy, more people would be doing it. It's because it's so hard that Jesus says "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). It's the very difficulty of loving that becomes the witness for Jesus' love. If loving people were easy, then it wouldn't be a remarkable thing when it happens. But when people come together in love because of the love God has given them in Christ, then the world wakes up and says, "Wow, where did this love come from?" And they will know that it's because of Jesus, that He's the source of this love.
This book of Brother Andrew had a remarkable quote in it. A leader of a well-known Islamic organization in Lebanon said to Brother Andrew:
"Brother Andrew, you Christians have a problem," he told me. Well, I
know Christians have many problems, but I was curious what this Muslim
leader would tell me. "What do you think our problem is?" I asked. He answered: "You Christians are not following the life of Jesus Christ anymore." That was an interesting observation from a fundamentalist leader. It really hit me hard, so I asked him, "What do you think we should do about that?" He said, "You must go back to the Book."
When we go back to the Book--in deeds and heart, not just words--we will find that Jesus is calling us to a lifestyle that is as radical in our times as it was in His. We are called to follow the life of Jesus Christ, a man who died at the age of 33, publicly humiliated and executed by the established powers. And He said, "No servant is greater than his Master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:1-20).
I got an interesting e-mail from a friend of mine in Colorado, who said she admired me because "everybody is talking about doing these things, but you're actually out there doing it." Though her words encouraged me, I also felt acutely that I'm not there yet. Just hopping on a plane halfway around the world doesn't do it--we need to be real witnesses of the risen Lord in our lives to people, walking by the grace of God. There's still so much that needs to be broken down in me, so much that needs to be pruned before I will bear fruit to the glory of God. But praise God that He's the gardener, and He's able and willing to prune away at me even if it hurts. Mary mistook Jesus for a gardener when He rose from the dead--maybe she wasn't so wrong after all.
This is a pretty long message, and honestly I don't know who reads this webpage. But anybody who's gotten this far, I just have one request: Pray that God would make me into a servant. I've seen in the last month just how much I rebel against being a servant, and yet I also see in God's Word that I am to be "slave of all" (Mark 10:44), as I emulate the King who became a slave to set His people free. And I'm not even a King! (Well, the Bible does call us a "royal priesthood," but of course God made flesh, serving in humility, is worlds away from me serving somebody.) To be honest, I don't feel like I'm very good at a lot of the things the Bible College wants me to do (some yes, but a lot no), and I get frustrated and feel kind of worthless when I know that most people could do a better job at the kind of practical things they need. But for one, I don't want to give up on God teaching me how to be a practical servant, and two, I want my attitude to be right with God, whatever the circumstances. I don't believe I'll be packing boxes and cleaning toilets forever, but if that's all I ever do, if I serve as unto the Lord, it's a fragrant offering to Him. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10). God is the source of eternal joy! So of course I would rather serve in His presence than be a king away from Him. But pray that God would give me patience and strength, and would allow me to actually be a blessing in practical ways to people here, as well as allowing me to be a blessing spiritually.
One other word, and I'm done. I want to encourage you all to remain in Christ, throughout every single day, in every single circumstance. He is the one that bears fruit in us to the Father's glory, and He is the "author and perfector of our faith," the "starter and finisher" of the race that we can only run as we fix our eyes on Him. As Brother Andrew's book says, if we focus on the darkness (and to be honest, in this place that's pretty easy to do), we won't be able to see. Only as we look to the light that shines in the darkness will our own lives be filled with light.
By the way, I got a chance to meet Brother Andrew in person last week; he's a very gracious and enthusiastic person. I think he's in his eighties, but he moves like a gazelle. "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall [that's me]. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Oh, Lord, let me rest in You as you start and finish my race, that I may run in the strength that you give me.
Love you all with an undying love in the name of Jesus,
Seth
I'm reading a tremendous book right now by Brother Andrew, author of "God's Smuggler" (which by the way is also a tremendous book, about Brother Andrew's work behind the Iron Curtain smuggling in Bibles to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union). It's called "Light Force," about the Christians in the Middle East and their struggle in the conflict. It's a very challenging and encouraging book. One paragraph especially challenged me:
[Someone asked Brother Andrew what he's learned in his years in the Middle East--] What had I learned? Well, there were a few important lessons. I verbalized one of them: "There are no terrorists--only people who need Jesus."
Johan had heard me say things like this many times, but that was a shock to my American friend. "I'm serious," I said. "If I see them as enemies, how can I reach them? I've often said, if you see a terrorist with a gun, get close to him, put your arm around him, and then he can't shoot you. As long as we see any person - Muslim, Communist, terrorist - as an enemy, then the love of God cannot flow through us to reach him. Each of us has a choice. I can go to terrorists and love them into the Kingdom. And the moment I love them, they are no longer my enemy. You don't hate a friend."
Did God love David? He was a murderer and an adulterer. Did God love Paul? He was a murderer too, a persecutor of the Church. What about the people of Nineveh in Jonah's days, whose wickedness had "come up before" God like a stench. If God loved them, then who are we to say we should not love them as well? 1 John 4:20-21 says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
At this moment, we are so tempted to ask as the expert in the law did to Jesus, "And why is my neighbor?" Who is our brother? Even Muslims? Even Arabs? Even "terrorists"? Does 1 John mean we just have to love Christians, or just our family, or just Americans? Jesus' response to the expert in the law was the story of the Samaritan who had mercy while the religious leaders passed by on the other side. He expanded the man's vision of who he was called to love and show mercy to. Are we willing to do the same?
The more I see the conflict in the Holy Land, the more I see the power of Jesus' teachings in this context. I learned a song based on the words above in 1 John that a dear African-American sister in the Lord taught me in Lebanon, which usually made my eyes tear up when I sang it. We as humans are so divided, so torn up by sin and all the conflict it's produced ever since Cain and Abel--so separated from God by this sin. But God came to reconcile us to Himself on the cross, and to reconcile us to each other (2 Cor. 5). What good does it do to call ourselves Christians if we do not love the people right in our midst?
I was talking to a friend of mine here, a Palestinian who's lived in the US a lot. He was telling me how one day an Israeli missile dropped through his apartment, in a spot where he'd been standing just moments before. (Praise God, he was all right.) And he thought, "You know, I've talked to American Christians, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, who give money to Israel to defend itself, so they go and buy these bombs. So this bomb that almost killed me could have been paid for by my brother in the Lord." Do people realize where all the bombs they drop go? Do people know where the bullets hit? How will people feel on Judgment Day, when they have to make an account of all the bombs and bullets they sent to destroy homes and lives? We rain down judgment on others, on "terrorists" and people who "hate freedom," but what will we say if God measures us with the same measurement? "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
Oh, but how can I say these things, challenge the Church with the words of Her Bridegroom, without falling into the same trap myself? Am I too not guilty of judging Christian Zionists, judging American evangelical militaristic nationalists? Do I not make the exact same mistakes as them? The only place I have to turn is the cross, where my sins were paid for in love. What is the verse right before the one I quoted in 1 John? It says, "We love because He first loved us."
If loving people, especially loving people who have hurt us or those close to us, were easy, more people would be doing it. It's because it's so hard that Jesus says "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). It's the very difficulty of loving that becomes the witness for Jesus' love. If loving people were easy, then it wouldn't be a remarkable thing when it happens. But when people come together in love because of the love God has given them in Christ, then the world wakes up and says, "Wow, where did this love come from?" And they will know that it's because of Jesus, that He's the source of this love.
This book of Brother Andrew had a remarkable quote in it. A leader of a well-known Islamic organization in Lebanon said to Brother Andrew:
"Brother Andrew, you Christians have a problem," he told me. Well, I
know Christians have many problems, but I was curious what this Muslim
leader would tell me. "What do you think our problem is?" I asked. He answered: "You Christians are not following the life of Jesus Christ anymore." That was an interesting observation from a fundamentalist leader. It really hit me hard, so I asked him, "What do you think we should do about that?" He said, "You must go back to the Book."
When we go back to the Book--in deeds and heart, not just words--we will find that Jesus is calling us to a lifestyle that is as radical in our times as it was in His. We are called to follow the life of Jesus Christ, a man who died at the age of 33, publicly humiliated and executed by the established powers. And He said, "No servant is greater than his Master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:1-20).
I got an interesting e-mail from a friend of mine in Colorado, who said she admired me because "everybody is talking about doing these things, but you're actually out there doing it." Though her words encouraged me, I also felt acutely that I'm not there yet. Just hopping on a plane halfway around the world doesn't do it--we need to be real witnesses of the risen Lord in our lives to people, walking by the grace of God. There's still so much that needs to be broken down in me, so much that needs to be pruned before I will bear fruit to the glory of God. But praise God that He's the gardener, and He's able and willing to prune away at me even if it hurts. Mary mistook Jesus for a gardener when He rose from the dead--maybe she wasn't so wrong after all.
This is a pretty long message, and honestly I don't know who reads this webpage. But anybody who's gotten this far, I just have one request: Pray that God would make me into a servant. I've seen in the last month just how much I rebel against being a servant, and yet I also see in God's Word that I am to be "slave of all" (Mark 10:44), as I emulate the King who became a slave to set His people free. And I'm not even a King! (Well, the Bible does call us a "royal priesthood," but of course God made flesh, serving in humility, is worlds away from me serving somebody.) To be honest, I don't feel like I'm very good at a lot of the things the Bible College wants me to do (some yes, but a lot no), and I get frustrated and feel kind of worthless when I know that most people could do a better job at the kind of practical things they need. But for one, I don't want to give up on God teaching me how to be a practical servant, and two, I want my attitude to be right with God, whatever the circumstances. I don't believe I'll be packing boxes and cleaning toilets forever, but if that's all I ever do, if I serve as unto the Lord, it's a fragrant offering to Him. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10). God is the source of eternal joy! So of course I would rather serve in His presence than be a king away from Him. But pray that God would give me patience and strength, and would allow me to actually be a blessing in practical ways to people here, as well as allowing me to be a blessing spiritually.
One other word, and I'm done. I want to encourage you all to remain in Christ, throughout every single day, in every single circumstance. He is the one that bears fruit in us to the Father's glory, and He is the "author and perfector of our faith," the "starter and finisher" of the race that we can only run as we fix our eyes on Him. As Brother Andrew's book says, if we focus on the darkness (and to be honest, in this place that's pretty easy to do), we won't be able to see. Only as we look to the light that shines in the darkness will our own lives be filled with light.
By the way, I got a chance to meet Brother Andrew in person last week; he's a very gracious and enthusiastic person. I think he's in his eighties, but he moves like a gazelle. "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall [that's me]. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Oh, Lord, let me rest in You as you start and finish my race, that I may run in the strength that you give me.
Love you all with an undying love in the name of Jesus,
Seth
posted by Seth | 8:45 AM
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