"Lay It Down"
1 John 3:16-24
Facebook is a funny thing.
It's a forum where people often post pictures of their beautiful children and grandchildren, and inspirational quotes to help others through the day.
I often use it to promote things that are going on here at East Ridge United Methodist Church, and a number of other pastors do the same for the churches they serve.
Some of us use it kind of like the editorial section or "rant" section of a newspaper.
We complain about the state of politics, morals, local government--you name it.
Oftentimes, others get involved in the discussions and they can soon turn ugly and heated.
Some people lose friendships and even their jobs over what they put on social media.
I think there are some good things and bad things about Facebook.
In any event, it enables us to stay in contact with a lot of people whom we wouldn't even know anything about otherwise...
...folks we went to high school with, people who now live hundreds or thousands of miles away...
...people we may have all but forgotten about or never would have known what happened to them if it weren't for Facebook.
I don't know about you, but one of the things I don't enjoy about Facebook are the heated political and sometimes angry religious arguments which take place.
I have a cousin who, fairly recently, became an atheist.
Several times a week he will unload on Christians--usually lumping us all together as a very hypocritical, hyper-conservative, right wing hate group.
And I must say that there are many, many people who do view us this way.
Many things are said and done in the name of Christianity which, I believe, have nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is often used as a political pawn for this or that candidate or party.
And this, understandably makes people angry.
Jesus, is sometimes manipulated and used as an excuse to judge, exclude and hate other people.
It's a horrible tragedy.
And it's one of the main reasons why many folks turn away from the church and Jesus Christ altogether.
And the truth of it is that Jesus is anything but a political figure.
Jesus is not a bigot.
Jesus is not an advocate for war and violence.
Jesus is a pacifist Who instructed His followers to "Put away their weapons," and "turn the other cheek."
I think the world sees "Christians behaving badly" and they think this is what Jesus taught us to do.
I don't know about you, but I couldn't worship a God Who was a bigot, hateful, violent, mean, exclusive, vengeful, judgmental and no better than me.
I wish no one else could either.
Our Scripture passage from 1 John is about Who the God we worship is and how we are to imitate the God we seek to follow.
"This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
Now, what in the world does John mean when He says we ought to "lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters"?
Does he mean that we are to be killed or martyred?
Does he mean we jump in front of a train in order to push another out of the way, and thus save them at the cost of our lives?
Perhaps.
But I believe it goes even deeper than this.
Notice that John goes on to say: "But if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need and that person doesn't care--how can the love of God remain in him?
Little children, let's not love with words or speech but with action and truth."
Could it be that we lay down our lives when we put others first?
Could it be that we lay down our lives when we live for the good of others?
Could it be that we lay down our lives when we lay down the completely normal human desire to live for ourselves, and instead allow the love of God to transform us into people who care about the needs of others?
Could it be that we lay down our lives when we stop arguing among ourselves about the details, and instead work together for the sake of Christ?
Could it be that we lay down our lives when we humble ourselves and serve?
John says, "This is [God's] commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other..."
How are you doing at that?
How am I doing?
How is the Christian Church as a whole doing?
It's been said that Churches should have a 'Love-Radius.'
Bombs have what's called a "blast-radius," defined as the distance from the source that will be affected when an explosion occurs.
Churches should have love-radiuses—anyone within twenty miles of a church should know it and be positively affected by the church's love.
Now this takes a lot of work.
It takes time, sacrifice and...
and...
...and...
...lots and lots of LOVE.
But I believe it's possible.
I want us to think about the answer to this question:
How committed are we to this Church?
How much time do we put into it?
Are we just "pew-sitters" or are we doers?
Are we complainers or are we here to worship God?
Do we tithe at least a tenth of our income in order to insure that this church will be able to continue to function and have a "love radius," make a big difference for Christ in this community, or do we keep our money for ourselves?
Most of us are not aware of this, but we need a $2,300 offering today, just to have a 0 balance in our checking account.
(pause)
This would not even be close to an issue if we all tithed--gave the biblical standard of 10% of our income to the church--but the majority of us don't do this.
Are we actively involved in the ministries of this church?
Are we seeking avenues in order to help this Church create a "love radius" that goes out one foot, two feet, a mile, three miles, twenty miles from our building?
It won't happen by itself.
Christianity is not about magic.
Churches don't thrive when people sit on the sidelines.
Christianity doesn't grow when folks aren't "laying down their lives."
It takes sacrificial love; love in action...not just empty words.
Imagine the impact we could make for the humans that God loves if we would all completely commit ourselves to "laying down our lives?"
Do you think the image of the church would change?
Would folks want to be a part of something so alive, so in-love with God and humankind?
Would you?
What kind of impact would it make in your life to be a part of something so alive, so in-love, so organic?
Would you have the life--the abundant life--Jesus promised to those who follow Him?
One person has written: "Every life ought to be an 'imitation of Christ.'
Only by living in such love as Jesus' love can we know from the inside the new life He brings."
Do you know the new life Jesus brings?
Are you truly experiencing it on a regular basis?
John writes: "The person who keeps his commandments remains in God and God remains in him..."
It's easy to get "caught up" in the politics of selfishness, and hate-filled talk.
It's easy to demonize those who hold differing views than we.
It's easy to hold on to old prejudices, and just go with the flow.
But Jesus didn't exclude anyone.
Jesus didn't judge anyone.
Jesus loved everyone.
And we are to imitate Him.
He laid down His life for all; if we are to follow Him we are to lay down our lives for others.
It's very tempting to substitute talk 'about' love for deeds of love.
As one person has put it: "Life reveals the children of God."
"There is no way of telling what a tree is other than by its fruits, and there is no way of telling what a person is other than by his or her actions."
The Bible is pretty hard on Christians who say they have the love of Jesus in their hearts but don't share their material possessions with those in need.
Tony Hall, once said, "There's over 2,500 verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of helping the poor, the sick, the hungry.
God set it up that we are to address this issue and that he works through us.
His Plan B?
Well, I don't know what Plan B is.
Plan A is the way he set it up."
Shane Claiborne, who spent a summer in the slums of Calcutta with Mother Teresa, wrote the following about one of his experiences there:
"People often ask me what Mother Teresa was like.
Sometimes it's like they wonder if she glowed in the dark or had a halo.
She was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery—like a beautiful, wise old granny.
But there is one thing I will never forget—her feet.
Her feet were deformed.
Each morning in Mass, I would stare at them.
I wondered if she had contracted leprosy.
But I wasn't going to ask, of course. 'Hey Mother, what's wrong with your feet?'
One day a sister said to us, 'Have you noticed her feet?'
We nodded, curious.
She said: 'Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds them.
And years of doing that have deformed her feet.'"
Years of laying down her life for her fellow human beings deformed her feet.
But you know, spiritually, I can think of nothing more beautiful than feet such as those.
It's been said that "Many Christians today claim they believe in Jesus Christ.
By that, they mean they assent to the truth of the gospel.
But what is the truth of the gospel, if not believing that living a life of sacrificial love is the starting point of our new life in Christ?...
...Faith and love come bound together as a single package."
Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God's love.
And Jesus Christ "laid down his life for us."
We can't believe in Jesus without believing in love, and we cannot have love without action.
The Bible gives us no room to
