Love All People

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 12th of November, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today we’ll delve a little deeper into the letter that the Apostle James wrote to the early church.  Now we need to remember that James was a half-brother of Jesus, so he would have known our Lord well, having grown up together.  And I mentioned earlier that James was mostly concerned with the practical aspects of Christian conduct and behavior.  In this letter, he gives us good, solid, practical instructions on how our faith should guide our everyday lives.

In the first chapter, he told us to resist the ways of the world, for the devil will try to destroy our faith.  He also encouraged us to live out the word of the Gospel message in our daily lives.  And he echoed the warning Jesus gave us that we would definitely experience trials, but by living the word, and not reacting as the world does, we can show others the power of faith.

Today we’re going to listen as James gives us a little lecture on our showing favoritism when dealing with other folk.  And again he will remind us of what Jesus - and our Father God - already told us.

Please listen and follow along to the first 13 verses of the 2nd chapter of the letter written by James to the early church, and I’ll be reading this from the Easy-to-Read Version of our Holy Bible (later on I’ll be reading from the New King James Version)…

1 My dear brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So don’t treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose someone comes into your meeting wearing very nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. 3 You show special attention to the person wearing nice clothes. You say, “Sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor person, “Stand there!” or “Sit on the floor by our feet!” 4 Doesn’t this show that you think some people are more important than others? You set yourselves up as judges — judges who make bad decisions.

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. God chose the poor people in the world to be rich in faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to those who love Him. 6 But you show no respect to those who are poor. And you know that the rich are the ones who always try to control your lives. And they are the ones who take you to court. 7 And the rich are the ones who insult the wonderful name of Christ, the name by which you are known.

8 One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” If you obey this law, you are doing right. 9 But if you are treating one person as more important than another, you are sinning. You are guilty of breaking God’s law.

10 You might follow all of God’s law. But if you fail to obey only one command, you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. 11 God said, “Don’t commit adultery.” The same God also said, “Don’t kill.” So if you don’t commit adultery, but you kill someone, you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law.

12 You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do. 13 Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when He judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.

--James 2:1-13 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, like any little children, sometimes we need to be scolded a bit when we do wrong.  Our Lord’s apostle James just lectured us about how we are too often judgmental in our dealings with others.  You told us not to judge, Jesus told us not to judge, yet we do just that far too frequently, discriminating against some while favoring others.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Thank You for not showing favoritism on Your part, or we would all be doomed.  And thank You for inspiring James to write this letter to instruct us in how we should act in our daily lives.  Sadly, we don’t always spend as much time in our bibles as we should, gaining new insights and being reminded of things we’ve already been told.  Please help us see the worth of Your word not only in our future life, but in this life as well.  Please open our hearts and our minds to Your message.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand what You tell us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

This is a little long, but very sweet, and I've actually shortened it just a bit.  It comes from author Dave Simmons in his book, Dad, The Family Coach:

Not long ago, I took my eight year old daughter Helen and five year old son Brandon to the local mall to do a little shopping.  As we drove up, we spotted an eighteen-wheeler parked in the mall lot with a big sign on it that said, "Petting Zoo."  The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, "Daddy, Daddy!  Can we go?  Please.  Please!  Can we go?"

"Sure," I said, flipping them both a quarter before walking into Sears.  They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw.  A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected inside the mall with about six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds.  Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy little critters while their moms and dads shop.

A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me.  I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo.  Recognizing my error, I bent down and asked her what was wrong.

She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly, "Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents.  So, I gave Brandon my quarter."  Then she said the most beautiful thing I ever heard.  She repeated the family motto: "Love is Action!"

She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures more than Helen.  She had watched my wife and I both do and say "Love is Action!" for years around the house and the ranch.  She had heard and seen "Love is Action!," and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle.  It had become part of her.

What do you think I did?  Well, not what you might think.  As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo.  We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals.  Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon.  I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it.

Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action."  It's "Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!"  Love always pays a price.  Love always costs something.  Love is expensive.  When you love, benefits accrue to another's account.  Love is for you, not for me.  Love gives; it doesn't grab.  Helen gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson.  She knew she had to taste the sacrifice.  She wanted to experience that total family motto: Love is sacrificial action.

Let me repeat that:  Love is sacrificial action.  It has a cost.  It gives, rather than takes.  Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to show God’s love.  He paid a tremendous price, just to give us atonement of our sins.  Unconditional love, sacrificial action.

In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul pleads with us that we make of ourselves a living sacrifice to God in our service.  We don’t have to give up our mortal life, as Jesus did.  We just need to take action and give freely of ourselves, of our talents, of our resources, of our time.

It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t cost something, if it doesn’t hurt a little.  The rewards later will far outweigh any pain now.

This morning’s section of James’ letter is all about love.  OK, so he doesn’t really mention “love” until about two-thirds of the way through when he reminds us that we are to love our neighbor the same as we love ourselves.  But the rest of it shouts “love”, too, for if we truly do love others in this way, we won’t discriminate against them, no more than we discriminate against ourselves.

James quotes God’s commandment in this, but he also emphasizes what his brother commanded earlier.  Hear the words Jesus spoke as recorded by the Apostle John in verses 34 and 35 of the 13th chapter of his Gospel account…

34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

--John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

This is a command from God and again from Jesus, to love one another.  This is part of the God’s law.  If we don’t obey this one part, we are guilty of breaking it all.  And family, too many times we fail to obey this part.

Now if we just look casually at our scripture reading, we can see that James talks about loving others, but there is no mention of sacrifice to be found.  Well, yes, in a way, there is.  James is asking us to sacrifice - to give up - that part of human nature where we are prone to judge others.

It just seems to be in our nature, our inner being, to judge people, whether individually or in groups.  We stereotype, we discriminate, we treat some better than others.  We judge them based on financial status, social standing, notoriety, where they’re from, what opinions they hold, what political party they associate with, how they talk, how they look, the color of their skin.  And we do it without even thinking about it.

So, again, James is simply reminding us of what God has already told us not to do.  Don’t judge others.  Someday, and maybe soon, we will be judged by God who will use the same measure against us that we used against those folks we were supposed to love.  James warns us to remember this in everything that we say and do.

Let’s turn to Jesus again, when He cautions us not to judge others during His Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 7 of his Gospel account…

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

--Matthew 7:1-2 (NKJV)

Discriminating is judging.  Showing favoritism is judging.  Treating one person better than another, for any reason, is judging.  Thinking some other person is more or less important than another is judging.  I’m guilty of this, and I bet you are, too.  It’s easy to do, and hard to stop ourselves.  But that’s why James tells us to think about it, to remember this in everything we say and do.

Rather than being judgmental, we should be just.  Instead of showing partiality, we should show mercy.  The prophet Micah expresses this quite clearly in chapter 6 verse 8 of the book bearing his name…

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

--Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

To do justly and love mercy.  This is what our Lords requires of us.  Not showing favoritism, but instead showing mercy.

Loving others would be easy if we all looked the same and acted the same and thought the same way.  But that’s not how God made us.  We are each a beautiful creation, wondrously made, graciously loved by our Creator.  And He commands us to love each other, just as we love ourselves.

He loves us even when we sin against Him, and commands that we love others even when they sin against us.  So let’s not just love other Christians, or only those who look like us or think like us or act like us or share common interests.  Let’s love ALL people.  And let’s love them all the same.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to live and how to love.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for the apostolic letters in our bible, written by those who knew Your Son best, including His earthly brothers.  Thank You for the instruction and guidance they provide, and for their words of encouragement that help us get through each day.  Too often, Father, we fail to follow these instructions, we fail to heed their warnings.  Too many times we judge other people, letting prejudice and hatred guide our actions and words, overshadowing any love we may have for them.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we disobey You in this way.  Please help us be more loving, giving of ourselves, putting our love into sacrificial action.  Help us love all people, not just those who love us or who might benefit us in some way.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You echoed our heavenly Father when You commanded us to love others and not to judge them.  You even warned us that we would be judged in the same way and by the same measuring stick that we use to judge others.  Thank You, Lord, for Your warning, but sadly we too often fail to heed it.  Please help us, dear Lord -- help us be more obedient.  And especially please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message with the lost, showing them Your love through our love.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.