05: Love and the Law – Thought Starters
[Thought questions for Love and the Law October 28, 2014]
Image © Consuelo Udave from GoodSalt.com
- Love without Liking. Your lesson this week asks you to love even those you don’t like. Wait a minute! Is that possible? What about the marriage that goes bad? Is the wife obliged to love the husband she can’t stand any more? What if he uses his physical strength to impress on her that he’s the boss she must obey? Then think of men who have been betrayed by their wives. How can we expect the tormented to love those who have abused people like these? What about people you just don’t care for? You have nothing in common with them. Does Jesus want you to love them? How?
- The Man in Gold. Imagine two families arriving at your church for services at the same time. Can you tell that the man in one family probably has a good job or profession and takes pride in his wife’s and children’s appearance? What do you think of the other family with no father arriving at the same time? How are they dressed that shows their poverty? Which family do you greet first? Isn’t the way people look a good indicator of what their hearts are like? So what’s wrong with admiring the well-dressed person and his family?
- A class structure. Why is our church, in general, growing faster among poverty-stricken people than among the well-to-do? What would it take to reverse the trend? Imagine an issue before the world church leaders. Will a proposal supported by a high percent of well-to-do and well-educated members have a greater chance of success? What if the poorer segment outnumbers the wealthier “class” two to one? Can we stop issues from being driven by the income and social class of church members? Should we try? Would James, if he were an elder in your church, try to persuade your wealthier members to humble themselves to be more sympathetic to the needs and interests of poorer members?
- Loving our Neighbors. Can you remember a time in your past when you had perfect neighbors? Friendly, helpful, willing to share? Or maybe your idea of a perfect neighbor is one who lives miles from you but is your only neighbor. Do you think God has something to teach you by means of your neighbors? How easy is it these days to make friends of our neighbors? What if our neighbors are not Christian? Should we try to show love to them anyway? Is it possible for us to help Christian people who live nearby to find a richer Christian life?
- The Whole Law. Does the law come in parts? What do you think is the difference between the “law of love” and “the whole law” that Jesus and His disciples preached? What damage do we do to the whole law if we violate even one principle of it? Can we work very hard to obey all of the commandments and still fall short of following the whole law? How? Do you think people were amazed or annoyed at Jesus for being so full of the obedient love that they couldn’t grasp themselves? What about you and me?
- Judged by the Law. Do you look forward to being called before the Universe and proudly proclaiming that you are sinless before God? Or will that ever happen? If you and I cannot stand faultless before the Throne of God, how can He draw us into His eternal kingdom of perfect love? Whose righteousness is good enough and strong enough to make us eligible for eternal salvation? How can we have enough love to respond to God’s appeal to us to love one another?
(2)
Ever since I was a child I tended to choose the underdogs as friends. I figured the achieved and popular had enough adulation. It was the kid who didn't have a friend in school that I chose to hang out with. My best friend was a boy who didn't have any friends. We became best of friends, that went beyond high school. We did a lot of things together, camping, car shows, and the like. We both had a fascination with different cars. . I had plenty of opportunites to pick a more accomplished friend than George. We were the same age, however he graduated from high school three years after I did. I was valedictorian of my class of 1970. He ranked toward the bottom of his class of 1973. He died unexpectedly in 2000. His wife asked me to eulogize him and lead out at his funeral.
Jesus chose the outcasts of society to mingle with not the upper crust. The one who loved him the most was Mary Magdelene, an outcast of all outcasts. Wow, Jesus actually gave extra tlc to a hooker! The question begs to be asked, will we do the same? As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.
"Why is our church, in general, growing faster among poverty-stricken people than among the well-to-do?" I'd like to see the statistics. Is the rate of growth really faster among the poor or is it just that there are more poor people to start with? Why do I ask that question? I've also heard that, in society in general, there is a growing separation between "the rich" and "the poor" with a shrinking middle class.
Too often wealthy people are self-satisfied and don't see a need. It is the less fortunate that reralize their need for God, hence the rapid growth of membership among their numbers. Some folks worry that the expanding lower economic base, with a shrinking wealthier class, will pose greater financial challenges to the world church to keep things going. Here again is a notion that God needs our money to sustain His work. God does not need our money to further His Kingdom. If need be he can produce means from the mouth of a fish. What God needs is every last part of us, individually, and that includes our money.