Loving others make Christians different. That’s just who we are.
We recently had a new family move in down the street from us. They moved here to Georgia, from New York. I made a plate of brownies and gathered the family to go pay them a, “welcome to the neighborhood visit.” When the husband opened the door and I told him why we were there, he looked at me like I had two heads and called his wife. They kind of nervously shook our hands and chatted for a very short time. We said, goodbye and headed home.
My daughter inquired why we always bake something when people move in. We are baking for perfect strangers. I told her, “We make it our business to welcome new people to our neighborhood. That’s just who we are.”
I shared my story with another new neighbor. They moved here from Charleston, but were originally from Connecticut. She laughed hysterically. “They don’t do that up North.” I found myself saying again, that welcoming new people with baked goods is something we do, whether the new neighbors are from up North or the other side of the world. “That’s just who we are.”
When we were going though a period of time where my teens were really complaining about going to church on Sundays, I made it very clear to them under no uncertain terms, that we go to worship service on Sundays. That’s just who we are. They also pointed out to my hubby and me that we are the only family that they know who eat dinner together at the table every night. You know my response at this point.
All of these conversations have been swirling in my head about how we define ourselves. What in our lives matter the most to us? What are the behaviors and traditions that we simply will not budge on?
What about our faith walk? If we know who we are in Christ, who does the world see in us? Do people suspect that we are a Christian when they cross paths with us? Do they know it instantly or do they have no idea who we belong to? The Bible tells us that we are supposed to become more Christ like on our journey. Does our growth match the time that we have been believers?
Jesus told his followers that the most important commandment was to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.” Mark 12:29-30. Those are red letter words, so they are really important. In Luke, he goes onto explain who your neighbor is by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Jews did not like the Samaritans. Jesus knew that, yet he told the story anyway.
Love is what sets Christianity apart from the rest, our love for our God and our love for others. It’s not about hate or force or fear. Those are the opposites of Christianity and the opposites of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Those things come from another source entirely.
We are supposed to render aid whenever we can. We are supposed to feed the hungry and nurse the sick and befriend the friendless and try to help the helpless, whether or not they are Christian, because in doing so, we are showing the lost, the face of Christ. In doing so, we become more Christ like. In doing so, we may be the pivotal force in helping those who don’t know Jesus become those who seek Jesus. In doing so, we are loving our God and our neighbor and that’s just who we are.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂