As Christians, our lives are to be defined by grace, and the subsequent demonstration of the love we have received from Jesus to others. Jesus is clear that this love needs to be shown not only to those we care about, but also to those who are our enemies and those who are unable to repay us. This blog-post focuses on the latter of those categories; help for those in material (and spiritual) need is something that God has told us to do through biblical revelation, and therefore something that we must implement in our lives and mission.
In the parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-40), Jesus teaches about how those who are His followers will act, challenging us about our actions. Jesus says that His followers will be so defined by His love, that they will treat others with the same love they have for God. If we are to truly follow Jesus it is imperative to treat others with the compassion that we would give Him if he were in need – “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…” (v35); “’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’” (v40).
Jesus teaches about this again through the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-30). Whenever both died, the rich man was sent to Hades. He hadn’t mistreated or exploited Lazarus in any way when he was alive (he even gave him leftover food!), but rather ignored him and didn’t show him love. God hates sins of omission such as this, when we could show love to others but don’t. For example, Sodom was destroyed for many reasons – one such reason was as it omitted to “aid the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Jesus is explicit here: seeing someone in need and not helping is sin, no matter how we try and justify it in our minds.
As Christians, our faith must be defined by showing the love of Christ to all, as he has shown it to us. Jesus displayed this love on the cross, where he sacrificed himself for us – undeserving sinners who cannot repay such love. Being His disciple involves a lifestyle that is inherently cross-centered. As already seen in the two parables, Jesus taught about how we should show this unconditional love to others throughout His ministry; two more key examples are found in Luke.
Luke 6:32-35 - “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”
Luke 14:12-14 - “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
The theme of helping those in desperate need is not just present in the ministry of Jesus, but throughout the whole Bible. For example, in 1 John 3:16-18 it is written that “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Helping the poor is also mentioned in verses from both the New and Old Testaments, such as: Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 4:28; Romans 12:20; Romans 15:25-26; James 2:2-6; Isaiah 10:1-3; Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 17:5; Proverbs 19:17.
Being a true disciple of Jesus isn’t about being comfortable, fitting in some good deeds around our lives in order to evade feelings of guilt. It’s about defining our life by loving God and loving our neighbour (Matt. 22: 36-19). It’s about giving up anything to do follow Him (Luke 18:22). It’s about displaying the love shown on the cross to the world (1 John 3:16). It’s about crossing the road and treating someone who has been broken and made desolate by the world as if they were Jesus (Matthew 25:40). This is what God has asked of us, and it is crucial that we place the love of Christ at the centre of our lives and mission.
