Dangerous Distractions
Read: John 13:31–35
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35 nlt
Artist Sigismund Goetze shocked Victorian-era England with a
painting entitled “Despised and Rejected of Men.” In it, he portrayed
the suffering, condemned Jesus surrounded by people of Goetze’s own
generation. They were so consumed by their own interests—business,
romance, politics—that they were shockingly oblivious to the Savior’s
sacrifice. Indifferent to Christ, the surrounding crowd, like the mob at
the foot of Jesus’s cross, had no idea what—or who—they had missed.
In our day as well, believers and unbelievers alike can easily become distracted from the eternal. How can followers of Jesus cut through this fog of distraction with the truth of God’s great love? We can begin by loving one another as fellow children of God. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 nlt).
But real love doesn’t stop there. We extend that love by sharing the gospel in hopes of drawing people to the Savior. As Paul wrote, “We are . . . Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
In this way, the body of Christ can both reflect and project God’s love, the love we so desperately need, to both each other and to our world. May both efforts, empowered by His Spirit, be a part of cutting through the distractions that hinder us from seeing the wonder of God’s love in Jesus.
In our day as well, believers and unbelievers alike can easily become distracted from the eternal. How can followers of Jesus cut through this fog of distraction with the truth of God’s great love? We can begin by loving one another as fellow children of God. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 nlt).
But real love doesn’t stop there. We extend that love by sharing the gospel in hopes of drawing people to the Savior. As Paul wrote, “We are . . . Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
In this way, the body of Christ can both reflect and project God’s love, the love we so desperately need, to both each other and to our world. May both efforts, empowered by His Spirit, be a part of cutting through the distractions that hinder us from seeing the wonder of God’s love in Jesus.
To a world living in the fog of distraction, we bring the light of the good news of Jesus.
INSIGHT
Consider those Jesus chose as His first disciples (Luke 6:13–16). While they were all men and all Jewish, there was much that could (and sometimes did) divide them. Most were from Galilee in the north, but one (Judas Iscariot) was from Judea in the south. While most were fishermen (Mark 1:16–20), Matthew was a tax collector (Matthew 10:3) who served the Romans—harming his own people. Matthew would have been despised by everyone, especially Simon the Zealot (v. 4), a member of a radical Jewish group determined to drive Rome out of Israel. Add to that the attempts by James and John to seek higher places of honor in the kingdom (Mark 10:35–37), and you have a fertile environment for friction. These factors and more would have intensified the difficulty of loving one another. Yet, just as we love God because He first loved us, we love one another—despite our differences—in the power of the love we have received from God. As we seek to dwell together as followers of Christ, loving one another isn’t easy, but it’s vital.Do you need God’s help to love a particular person in an intentional way this week?
The example of the painting Artist Sigismund Goetze entitled “Despised and Rejected of Men” reminds me of an incident that was done in a church in which the pastor experimented with the scripture passage in James 2:1 "believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism." He intentionally had a member of the church dress in a shabby way so his identity was concealed. He then had another gentlemen purposely dress to the 9s portraying himself to be very rich. Sure enough, the rich man was escorted to the front of the church and generally fawned over. On the other hand, the shabby dressed member of the congregation was asked to sit in a corner in the back . That evening this passage was read out and then the secret was revealed which embarrassed the congregation. However, instead of being repentant they were angry i that they had been duped in this little experiment. As the saying goes, Actions speak louder than words.
ReplyDeleteOof. "Do you need God's help to love a particular person in an intentional way this week?" This hits home for me as I have been struggling with a student who is very challenging! I have to remember to show Love - Christ's Love - as I greet this student each day.
ReplyDeleteBut real love doesn’t stop there. We extend that love by sharing the gospel in hopes of drawing people to the Savior. As Paul wrote, “We are . . . Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20). I love what this passage says, so beautiful. It's so true we are to share the Gospel as disciples. Sometimes those that don't have access to the Lord has never even heard his name. Sometimes without even saying anything about the Lord, someone experiences Jesus that day by us just even saying hello. This is such a good reminder, because kindness goes so far and the Lord is always using us.
ReplyDeleteIt is so important to see beyond our own limited perspective and see the big picture. We so often focus on the "small stuff" instead of seeing how much we all have in common in Christ and as humans.
ReplyDelete