DISSEMENATING GOD’S GRACE BEYOND THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH
Natural disasters, like hurricanes, that wreak havoc in the lives of so many people as well as wreck so much property, tend to bring out the best in all of us. Such was the case recently when untold numbers of heroic rescues, by unnamed rescuers, saved the lives of scores of victims.
Some rescues were captured on cameras but others went unnoticed. Yet, all rescuers regardless of who they were, must have had something good in common . . . Honesty compels me, though, to mention the probability that, in some instances, there might have been onlookers who witnessed the plight of victims but, for whatever reason, did nothing to help, directly or indirectly.
Suppose we attribute the highest of motives to everyone who did go to the rescue of the helpless: Out of the goodness of a compassionate heart, either they acted on their own or they sought the help of someone who would be able to go to the rescue. Surely no one’s response was due to any ulterior motive or lack of concern! We can only conjecture!
What we must come to grips with, however, is an uncomfortable truth about human nature: Inherent in all of us is a “bent toward sinning” (missing the mark) - to one degree or another.
That said . . . let me point out that one of the marks of a “Christian Culture” is the reshaping of moral thinking that occurs over time - so that most of us have had it instilled in us from childhood that we should “do unto others as we would have others do unto us”.
This sacred principle - “it’s the right thing to do” – had its origin in biblical teachings of both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus epitomized doing the right thing! The Early Church indoctrinated its members to live by the Golden Rule!
In our role as kingdom dwellers, quite naturally we go to the aid of fellow believers without hesitation or second guessing. Above all, we show love for brothers and sisters in Christ! We do this because:
As members of the Family of God, every one of us has been granted those attributes of discernment and distinction – and we act accordingly. Subsequently we were granted the attribute of dissemination – a unique ability to “spread far and wide, as in sowing seeds” God’s grace in various ways. Our motive for doing so is love for God + love for others. (Symbol of the Cross)
Putting this concept of “agape” into practice within the family, within the fellowship of believers, within the household of faith presents little or no problem to most of us. Rather easy and quite enjoyable! After all, “Charity begins at home!”
The “rub” comes when faced with an opportunity for ministry away from home or outside our comfort zone! The Lord Jesus, in His role as our Master Teacher, was expert at challenging us to practice what we preach beyond the place we call home . . . the walls of our sanctuary . . . the household of faith. As a matter of fact:
Basic to Christian Discipleship is the practice of our profession of faith not only at home but at large . . . not only here but there . . . among those “like us”, but also among those who are “different from us”. Thus, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37 . . .
Whenever Jesus told an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, usually He did so in response to a question, a situation, or a fascination about eternal life . . . Here (in this story) a lawyer asks “What must I do” to get accepted into the kingdom.
A common way of thinking among Jews and Gentiles alike! “Do this or that, and you’re in!” Not uncommon to this day! “Tell me what to DO!” Truth be told: Nobody could ever DO enough to merit salvation. Therefore, salvation had to be “by grace through faith”!
Once saved by God’s grace through faith, our role is to be about our Father’s business - disseminating God’s grace in various ways - first to members of the household of faith, then to those on the “outside” - as opportunities arise.
You might say that the real test of one’s conversion, the “proof” of one’s profession of faith, may well be the pattern we develop in our lives of responding to needs we become aware of: As a general rule, do we respond, or, as a general rule, do we avoid responding to dire needs?
When questioned here by the legal beagle, Jesus cut through the chase and went directly to the heart of the matter:
“Is the Shema you wear on your wrist inscribed on your heart? Has your memorization of the Great Commandment taken root in the fertile soil of your mind? Do you truly love the Lord God with all your heart, mind and soul?” If so, there would be no question about your type of response to your neighbor.
Sensing a connection between loving God and loving others referred to by Jesus as “thy neighbor” - no doubt making the lawyer feel uncomfortable by the direction this dialogue about inheriting eternal life was taking - “doing” for somebody other than a member of the family - the legalist sought clarification for the sake of justification of his views to the contrary by asking the Master Teacher, “Who is my neighbor”? In reply:
Jesus told a parable about a gang of robbers, a religious twosome, and one next-door neighbor – a gang of crooks that despised the laws of the land . . . religious types that despised neighbors . . . one of the despised Samaritan neighbors . . . In this story told by Jesus, four types of attitudes are represented:
(1) What’s thine is mine, and I will take it. For sure, we live in times when it seems that very little is considered individually sacred anymore. You may have earned it, but “we” will take it away from you – by force or by falsehood if that’s what it takes.
(2) What’s thine is thine, and you will just have to live with it. You got into this mess by not taking necessary precautions. Clean it up yourself. You made your bed, lie in it. I’ve got a schedule to keep and meetings to attend. Why should I, a person of prominence, waste my time on you? In all probability, you would be unappreciative anyway.
(3) What’s mine is mine, and I will keep it. My life has been spent studying and preparing myself for greater things than having to interrupt my daily routine to help someone as careless as you must be - to wind up in a ditch. After all, my loyalty is to me and mine. Why should I bother with your problem when I’ve got enough problems of my own to worry about?
(4) What’s mine is thine, and I will share it. How refreshing to know that, in this world of woe, there are caring folks whose unselfish devotion to God gives no second thought to whether to help someone who is hurting - such help often rendered by a person who might be least expected to do so. Let this example of Good Samaritanism be a lesson to all of us!
Of course! The “neighbor” was the one who showed mercy – chose to be a neighbor . . . did as our Lord expects a member of His household of faith to do . . . disseminated God’s grace right then and there on the spot, then this lone rescuer took it upon himself to see it through to a successful conclusion!
The answer to the original question about inheriting eternal life is obvious: In the life of a true believer (repentance toward God and faith in Christ as Lord and Savior) true love for the Lord will be expressed in and through all relationships . . .
Our hope is that, by being a good neighbor - doing what good neighbors do - we extend to those not yet of our household a sincere welcome to become one of us!
Recently baptized at the age of 85, Bill Hayden, Australia’s former governor-general, was quoted as saying, “This took too long.”
In an interview, he told how it was that he finally turned his attention to God after a lifetime as an atheist. He had observed Sister Angela Mary Doyle, a 93-year-old nun, working among the poor. Then, while he was in the hospital recovering from a stroke, Sister Mary visited him often. “Every time she left my room I felt that I had been in the presence of a holy woman.”
Hayden told how he felt loved and embraced by her and that it was her godly Christian example that motivated him to find his way to God and the Church.
As a friend of mine said, “When you show love, you show God to the world.” “Like a good neighbor”, a certain insurance company claims to be there in time of need. We who know Christ as Lord and Savior instinctively do what good neighbors do because that is who we are!
Aim not to be like a good neighbor. As you go about the Father’s business, be a good neighbor! “When you show love, you show God to the world.” Amen.
