Christ given us the example of living his life focused upon the needs of those around him. He sought to put his own needs second whilst fulfilling purpose that his Father had given him. To although he lived a perfect sinless life, he never embarrassed the sinners that he met. When a lady was brought to him who had been caught committing adultery, his only words to her was “go and sin no more“. And he showed love for her whilst clearly stating that he did not approve of the behaviour .
As Christians we need to show his love for the individual, whilst maintaining the recognition of what is right or wrong behaviour learned from our study of Jesus and his life on earth. It is all too easy to judge people around us and say they are wrong to take the action they have taken, but we do not have complete knowledge and do not understand fully the pressures and circumstances they were in. So we need to show love for each individual, love without judgement.
You know how it was said in the old testament, "an eye for an eye" however this was actually introduced to stop escalation in disputes. It was intended to limit the compensation for retaliation that applied in a dispute, rather than metering out the minimum response. Jesus clearly taught a different way – when asked to summarize the law Jesus quoted “love God with all your heart and mind and soul , and love your neighbor as yourself .” Matt 22:36-40
The thought of treating a neighbour as you would want to be treated was not new, however up to that point the focus had always been on the negative. “Don’t do to others what youwould not wish them to do to you”. Whilst a good starting point four the way in which we should treat our neighbour, it left open the option of doing nothing. Jesus on the other hand set a new higher standard treat our neighbours as you would like to be treated yourself . As a result we can no longer ignore their needs and through this Jesus showed the importance he placed upon relationships.
To be a follower of him is to seek to live in harmony with those around. That is a very high standard and one which is difficult for us to attain. Paul later in New Testament recognizes that we are human and disharmony does exist between us. Where this exists he argues forcefully that harmony should be re-established. Indeed Jesus highlights the importance of rebuilding relationships where these have suffered. In Matt 5:23-24 he says if someone comes to the temple with an offering and then remember someone with whom they have a disagreement, he urges that the offering should be left and the relationship reconciled before the offering is made to God.
To many of us who have been brought up in the western world we believe in justice and we can use this belief sometimes to prevent us from taking the first step to restore a relationship. We might think that we have done no wrong and they should apologize first. Jesus however stresses the importance of rebuilding the relationship, It is not about who was right and who’s wrong, it is about living in harmony with our neighbour. We are called to make the first move, as Jesus did when was here seeking out those that needed his message of reconciliation. He made the first move. At times our pride can get in the way, we need to learn to be humble.
If you have an example to share that may help and encourage others, please do respond with a comment.
If you have an example to share that may help and encourage others, please do respond with a comment.
