We honour it every week in our traditional and non-traditional services; we acknowledge it, we affirm it, we say that this is what we do, but do we actually manifest this commandment to love in the world? I reckon that if every Christian actually did undertake the words of Christ in John 15.17 (to love one another) the world would be a different place. This is fully at the heart of the Gospel and yet for all we proclaim it we do not and I repeat, we do not obey this one commandment that follows from the love of God. I can already hear every Christian that reads this saying "But we do". Yes, we love those in our 'clique' but I am saying no we do not, at least not with the intent that the commandment has. How do I know this because of the state the world. It is in fact irrespective of what faith anyone holds, as there is a consistency of thought throughout every faith that the world would be better if we got over ourselves and loved each other. This does not happen and I do not have to go through reams of examples to show the bigotry of the world and its people whether it is Australia, UK or USA it is all the same.
Why? It is perhaps simply the fact that we are to involved with our selves and our own needs that we are unconcerned about the needs of others. We only wish to be associated with those we can get on with rather than those we cannot. Once we start this we begin to create our own little enclaves and cliques of those who belong and those who do not. In a way that division starts even with the writer of 1 John as the lines of acceptance are drawn in the sand (1 John 5.12). Once we begin we cannot and dare not stop creating the divisions that we are comfortable with, within the societies that we belong to because if we do we begin to fulfil the commandment given to us which takes work. Once we have the society we want than all others are non-members and are to be shunned as they are not us. The wall has been formed and it becomes increasingly impossible to breach the barrier and reach the individual, group, society on the other side.We are called from our baptism to form community and to enable others to come to God through Christ. However, we begin to baulk at this because it means that we actually have to do so much. We immediately take it that it is an onerous and thankless task, so we designated a person who can do it for us. They will present ways to do this and direct us so that our ability to undertake that which we need to do is enabled. We follow the directions encoded on the box, just like an instant meal If it brings success then we will continue and re-iterate the process irrespective what else is going on around us. Perhaps we can put a programme in for young people, perhaps we can undertake home groups, perhaps we can prepare to undertake some form of outreach service and bring "GOD" into it. We need to manage the situation so that we can deliver God's love or so it would seem. A really good programme or mission is all that is required and if it is managed properly then we will have people pouring in the doors, a full church. Great ideas and great things to undertake but is that what Christ set his disciples to do? Did he send them out to gather the crowds so that they could become part of the "Church" or did he send them out to bring God closer to the people so that they would realise that God was with them and a part of them? That God's love was manifest in their love of the other and not just the comfortable community that they belonged to.
At the end of the day does it really matter if the "Church" grows, (sacrilege) that really is not what God is about. Surely our job, or rather our calling as this is what it should be (a significant difference), is to live as Christ and bring God close to those who are unable to come close to God. It is God's love that matters not whether the Church grows. As someone else has said the Church exists to glorify God after that, whether it grows or not is up to God. Our "job" is to follow Christ in the costly calling of God's love not to ensure that the numbers in the pew are increasing, that is nowhere near the top of the list of commandments, in fact I cannot recall its presence in the scriptures. What is clearly enunciated, is to love God and love our neighbour and the first thing to be done there is to break down the walls that have arisen around our own enclaves, to open the doors to all so that we can share God's love with all. How do we do that? Well if we are not doing it at present perhaps now is the time to start by saying "Hello", "Ciao!", "Kaya", "Jingari" and any other number of greetings to those you do not know as you walk the malls and streets of your everyday life.
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