(Never Changing GOD, Ever Changing World)
“Continue loving each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Always remember to help people by welcoming them into your home. Some people have done that and have helped angels without knowing it. Don’t forget those who are in prison. Remember them as though you were in prison with them. And don’t forget those who are suffering. Remember them as though you were suffering with them. ”
This time of year is filled with ideas of love and all the sentiments that go along with it. While I don’t mind all the hearts and poetry and candy, it does leave me a bit confused about “love.” I mean I can very easily say “I love my wife,” then not moments later also utter, “I love burritos.” With excitement, I can share my love for a basketball team and not miss a beat in expressing my love for a song or a flavor of ice cream or my mother.
So when Jesus talked about the greatest commandment being loving GOD and loving each other, I can see how it could be confusing for the people of his day, including the law expert [Matthew 22:36-40]. Even today, the idea of love can be hard to get a grasp of.
And let’s just admit it.
Love already is, in itself, confusing.
My gut tells me that the Apostle Paul understood my confusion about love when he shared admonitions with believers like me. In the first century as well as the twenty-first century, there are a LOT of ideas about love, and for early Christians as well as 2022 Christians, navigating the practice of loving can be baffling.
So in Hebrews 13, Paul gets straight to the point in the first three verses. I love his directness, and his use of tangible examples to help Christ-followers activate their love. In verse one, he gives reference to the affection and bond between sibings. In verse two, he talks of intentional hospitality, being welcoming and treating guests as ET VIPs. In verse three, Paul pushes us to another level of love in exhorting us to empathize with others and to remember them. He gives illustrations of expressing empathy, knowing his readers could relate to imprisonment and suffering.
I love how Brené Brown describes and defines empathy:
Paul, with the backdrop of him being a prisoner and someone who suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, was encouraging Christians, then and today, to live out love in very real, accessible ways.
My wife, Deirdre, has a favorite saying about love. She says that people want, “Love with skin on it.”
In other words, “love” is a lofty, baffling concept. It’s an overused sentiment, that in this day and age has lost meaning, even potentially lost relevance. . .
That is until you and I [skin-covered human beings], express love in tangible ways. Like:
• Being kind.
• Including others.
• Expressing compassion.
• Welcoming outsiders.
• Listening.
• Exhibiting thoughtfulness.
• Pursuing empathy.
Then “Love” becomes real. Love becomes meaningful. Love becomes life-giving. Love becomes an expression of Jesus, through us.
In this season, may you and I become a living, acting, case-in-point expression of Love. And for those who are confused about or feeling distant from GOD, may we be "Love” with skin on it.
—Pastor Allan