The Bottom Line

The summary of a conversation and thought process with my friend Jasper.

The teachings and the life of Jesus are simple, not always easy but simple. Jesus traveled around to villages with two purposes: to teach the people about the kingdom of God and to show them love. During his life time Jesus was asked (Matthew 22:36) which is the greatest commandment? Jesus replied (22:37-40) Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Now, of all the things that Jesus could have said, these are the words that he chose; to speak of love. Not only did Jesus say that it is first important to love the Lord with everything that we have, but he goes a step further to say that loving our neighbors and ourselves is like loving the Lord; as in it is parallel and holds the same weight. Jesus also defined who our neighbor is in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) as everyone around you.
In addition as Jesus was gathered with his disciples at the last supper he told his disciples (John 13:34-35) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so that you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Again, of all the things that Jesus could choose to talk to his disciples about, he chooses love. He doesn’t give them a list of rules, or tasks, or places to go; he simply says love as you have seen me love.
So, how did the disciples see Jesus love? The gospels are flooded with examples of Jesus displaying love but one of my favorites is in John 8. A woman had been caught IN THE ACT of adultery (kind of glad that is one time the Bible leaves out some details). At the time, the Law would say to stone the woman to death. The Pharisees (religious rulers of the day) brought the woman out to Jesus as asked Him what they should do to this woman. Jesus responded (v. 8) ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ WHAT? This woman had been caught in an illegal act and Jesus’ response was one of compassion and love and it didn’t end there. None of the men cast a stone. Jesus looked at the woman and said that he did not condemn her and told her ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ That’s right, no guilt trip, no Romans way, no testimony, just a reminder that she was not condemned.
Or all of the times when Jesus would have dinner with the tax collectors, talk to the woman at the well, heal children and adults who were ill, raised loved ones from the dead, spent time with those who society had outcast, feeding the crowd of 4,000 instead of leaving them to fend for themselves, and many more.
So, it would seem that love is the bottom line of Jesus ministry and love is what he most desires us to live out. If Jesus led a life of love, and we are called to be like him, then we to should live a life of love. Unfortunately, love is a word that has been tossed around, misused and abused by society (especially by Hollywood). Thankfully, the apostle Paul gives us a beautiful and tangible definition of love (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8): “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Now many people have this read a weddings, which is wonderful and romantic and all that jazz, but this love does not only apply to marriages. This love is a way of life- every day. This is the love that Jesus walked out every day! This is the way that we are to treat every person we encounter. It saddens my heart that many ‘churches’ and Christian circles have lost sight of what the bottom line of Christianity is: Love God and Love others. In this, there is no place for: rules that turn into legalism, only allowing a certain group of people into your church, condemning a person for their sins, boasting about books published or what your church offers, giving up on a person going through a rough patch, creating a hierarchy of sins, or making people jump through hoops after they have done wrong. The “job” if you will, for the body of Christ is to love, to not dishonor. It should be like our Christian DNA. It won’t always be easy, it will hurt and it will be messy- but so was the life of Jesus. Love, it is the bottom line!
Here is another way of looking at it, a quote about love from Andrew Martin, and he is talking specifically about the GLBT community, but really it is applicable to the way that Christians treat any group/type of people. “What do these tangible, measurable and unconditional behaviors look like? They are nonjudgmental safe place- an environment that fosters a trustworthy relationship with someone else. Love is a walk, a hug, a dinner, an ear a fun trip – all free of the condemning and ostracizing that the GLBT person ‘knows’ is coming from Christians. This type of love says that no matter whom you are, no matter what you do or no matter what you say I have your back, and I refuse to give up- whether or not there’s ‘change’ – because my Father (referring to God) will never give up on me.”