The Christ Way of Love

           I am a follower of the Christ Way as it was modeled by the words and actions of Jesus as we understand them from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Most people call us Christians (although that moniker has been and is diluted and corrupted by many very un-Christlike people). Some modern-day followers of the Christ Way call themselves red-letter Christians because they look primarily to the words of Jesus for their doctrine, words which are traditionally printed in red ink in the aforementioned Gospels. I also look to the writings of Paul, Peter, and other early followers of the Christ Way as inspiration and insight for my own faith development. My sole authority, however, remains those red-letter words and actions of Jesus.

           While I may often stumble in adhering to those words, pretty much every attitude of my life is influenced by my faith. My understanding of the Christ Way influences which church I attend; what kind of people I associate with; my career choices; how I interact with my partner, my family, my friends, my colleagues, my students, and strangers; how I spend my money; how I treat animals and the environment; what I read and what I watch on TV; how I care for my body; and more.

           And it influences my politics to a great degree. I vote for candidates who advocate for the poor because Jesus was greatly concerned about the poor (Luke 3:11, 4:18, 14:13; and many more). I support politicians who uphold the rights of women and children because Jesus cared for women and children (John 4:1-26; Luke 8:43-48; Luke 7:36-50; Mark 10:13-16). I am against war and violence because Jesus was against war and violence (Matthew 26:52). I am critical of the rich and powerful because Jesus criticized the rich and powerful (Matthew 6:19-21, 24; Luke 18:25; Luke 16:19-31; and many more). I welcome foreigners because Jesus welcomed foreigners (John 4:1-26; Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 25:35). I support programs of learning and education because Jesus was a learned person who practiced critical thinking (Luke 2:46-47; Luke 4:17; John 3:1-21). Jesus healed the sick without asking for anything in return (Luke 17:11-19; Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 8:43-48; and too many more to list here); that’s why I support universal healthcare. Jesus fed the hungry with the bounty shared by those who had food (Matthew 14:13-21), thus I support programs that offer public assistance to those in need.

           We can help the poor by providing financial assistance to those who cannot work, and opportunities to those who can. We can feed the hungry without anyone else starving because we discard shameful amounts of food every day. We can offer affordable, quality healthcare to all because we are one of the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nations on the planet. We need to remember that all good things come from God, and much is expected from those to whom much is given (Luke 12:48).

We can uphold the rights of women when we acknowledge that God is neither male nor female (John 4:24), and that all people—male, female, transgendered, all nationalities, all socio-economic levels, all physical abilities, gay, straight, everyone—is created in God’s image (Galatians 3:28). This acknowledgement helps us affirm civil rights for oppressed populations. It motivates us to welcome refugees and to be kind to the stranger (foreigner) among us.

           Some scholars even believe that Jesus may have blessed a same-sex relationship (Luke 7:1-10). Philip, a leader in the early church, ministered to a eunuch (and a black one, at that), a man who formerly would have had no place in the Jewish community but who was welcomed into the community of Christ (Acts 8:26-40). Some scholars assert that the term eunuch was applied not only to men who had had their genitals removed, but also to men who displayed no sexual interest in females. If this is true, then shouldn’t followers of the Christ Way support the rights of LGBT individuals to be who they are without persecution and to marry the individual of their own choice?

           In a secular nation where (presumably) a separation of church and state is upheld, I cannot expect all Americans to believe and do as I believe and do. However, I can challenge those who call themselves Christian to hold up Jesus as their example of the best way to think and act in the world. Jesus never judged a person of another religion; He did, however, often criticize the establishment of his own religion (Matthew 23:13-26; plus other references). He never turned away foreigners; in fact, He urged His followers to show hospitality to all (Luke 14:13-14). He associated with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other “unclean” people of His day (Matthew 9:10). And who are the “unclean” people of our day but the poor and homeless, the refugees, the physically and mentally disabled, the un- and under-employed, the un- and under-educated, those who talk and move and think and learn and love differently from the mainstream?

           Jesus urged the rich to share what they had been given with those who had nothing (Mark 10:17-27). How many pastors of Christian mega-churches live in mansions and drive expensive cars and fly in private jets to exotic locales while people in their own communities go sick and hungry and in need? These false teachers promote the blasphemous doctrine of prosperity and deflect attention from their own sins by pointing out the “sins” of the “unclean”? And how many wealthy Christians hoard their wealth while non-Christians—atheists, even—share their wealth and donate generously to help those in need because their hearts are full of compassion and not greed? Tell me, whose heart is more like the heart of God? Romans 2:14-16 explains that people will be judged according to what they have done, not by what they have believed.

           The first-century church didn’t have the Scriptures we now call the New Testament to use as a reference for their lifestyle. Hell, many of those early believers had never even read the Hebrew Scriptures and couldn’t speak Hebrew at all—or read and write in any language, for that matter. All they knew was either their own experience with Jesus, or their experiences with those who had known Jesus, or the experiences of those who knew someone who had known Jesus. Their “religion” was simple: show love for God through worship, praise, and caring for others…especially to “…the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). They were known as followers of the Christ Way by their love, not by their doctrine or their material blessings or their moral superiority. They had received the Gospel, the Good News: God loved them and wanted to be in relationship with them, and God wanted them to love each other in healthy relationships marked by equality, compassion, and respect (just read virtually the whole book of Acts). That’s it. No complicated doctrine. No scriptures to memorize. No magical incantations to say or miraculous works to perform. Just people living together in love and trying to understand God through love. In the first century C.E., their movement was revolutionary because it was radically inclusive and egalitarian, something that few, if any, cultures of the ancient world had achieved. It was what many so-called Christians today would condemn as socialist or even communist.

           If God is love, then all true love comes from God. The love of a parent for a child is often used in the Bible as a metaphor for God’s love for us. The sacrificial love of one friend for another is upheld as the greatest form of love. The love shared by two spouses or partners; the love one feels for one’s pet; the love one feels for the environment; the compassion a person feels for those who are suffering; in my opinion, the love one feels for any and all living things is of God, and those who love are of God (1 John 4:7-8).

           But love doesn’t mean ignoring or overlooking the shortcomings of another. We are told to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). When a parent corrects a child; when a teacher corrects a student; when a friend has a heart-to-heart talk with another friend about a hurtful thing that friend has said or done; and when people point out the greed and corruption of their leaders, they are speaking the truth in love. When another’s attitudes and behaviors are hurtful, we are expected to speak the truth in love and tell the perpetrator to stop. Standing up to bullies who are using their wealth and power to inflict harm is not being rebellious or disrespectful or judgmental or self-righteous; it is speaking the truth in love so that the people causing the harm can see the error of their ways and turn their hearts toward love, and thus, toward God.

           As we enter the year 2017, my prayer for myself is to love God and others more perfectly and boldly, to replace fear with love, and to bravely speak the truth in love when I see how another’s words or actions are hurtful. And I pray that when someone else speaks the truth in love to me, I can accept their words, ponder them in my mind and heart, and ultimately trust God to enlighten any and all truth—as well as any untruths—their words contained and incorporate that truth into my own practice of love in this world.