Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward, who begins a new series below.
You might be surprised at which ones I am choosing:
Rom. 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
Gal. 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another”
How can anyone pray for my sins if I am not willing to confess those sins? How can anyone help bear my burdens if I am not willing to admit that anything weighs me down? No one can weep with me if I refuse to tell them I am sad. Conversely, I can’t do any of these things for others if no one will admit problems to me. So, often, the problem is not that no one is willing to help, but that no one admits to needing help.
Why do you think that is? I think it likely comes down to three things: too much pride, not enough humility, and fear. Too much pride in our supposed status within the church risks our reputations by admitting being human. For instance, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11) This man never admitted that there ever was a burden, much less that he might need help carrying it. Then there is too little humility because we are used to handling problems on our own. Too much dignity, too much self-sufficiency (“I can handle it myself!), too much sense of identity to be willing to ask for help. What did Jesus say about this? ““If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Finally, there is fear. The fear that if we open ourselves up to the church, admit our failings and weaknesses and ask for help, the other church members will be horrified. They will reject and ostracize us, and so we keep quiet out for fear.
I want to address this last problem first. This fear of rejection comes from a misunderstanding of the purpose and nature of the Church and its members. Yes, the New Testament consistently refers to active disciples of Christ as saints, or those sanctified (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:15-16), but how did they become sanctified? In Revelation 7, the innumerable host in heaven dressed in white robes are those washed in the blood of the Lamb. In Isaiah 1:18 the Lord says, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” We were all filthy in our sins and are only clean by the grace of the Lord. We all have pasts. A sister once said that the Church is like Sinners’ Anonymous. That seems exactly right to me. Just as A.A. won’t allow someone to bring a six-pack of beer to their meetings, the church cannot allow those who choose to continue a lifestyle of sin to be a part of the local body. However, just like A.A. is a safe place to discuss struggles, doubts, and failures in a life of sobriety, and a place where we receive help and support from others who have walked the same path, the church should be a safe place to confess struggles, doubts, and failures to walk in the light, and to receive support and help from those who have and are walking the same path.
How do we convince people that our local families provide this kind of support, help and acceptance? The answer is love. The more obvious that each local congregation loves each other with a Biblical love, the more people will be willing to ask for help. If we are loving well, remember we can always do better (1 Thess. 4:9-10).
1 Pet. 4:7-9 “But the end of all things is at hand: be therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer: above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covers a multitude of sins: using hospitality one to another without murmuring”
Peter says the most important thing to do to get ready for the end is to be fervent in our love for each other. He then describes love as being hospitable.
Hospitality in the ancient days was taking in strangers who were traveling and stopped in your town. It was considered an honor to be allowed to do this. The self-sacrifice of hospitality was the basis for Job’s defense of his righteousness (Job 31). According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia there were four major requirements for proper hospitality. 1) The guest becomes the master of the house. 2) The host performs the most servile offices for the guest. 3) The guest is given access to all the host owns. 4) The host is duty-bound to protect the guest from all dangers. Peter says to be hospitable to each other. So we are to adapt the principles of hospitality to our brothers and sisters in Christ. So, according to the first requirement, all of my brethren are my masters. They are the priority. If they need help, I drop what I’m doing and help. Oddly, there are others passages that support this: Gal. 5:13“through love be servants one to another.” and Phil. 2:4“Do not be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.” The second principle of the host performing menial service for the guest was demonstrated by our Lord when He washed the Apostles’ feet. Afterwards, He said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right because that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you must also wash one another's feet.” (John 13:13-14) To sum that up, there should be nothing my brother might need from me that I am too important to do. We also don’t hold anything back from our brethren in need. 1 John 3:16 says we should be willing to die for each other and Rom. 8:32 says that God, having sacrificed His Son for us, would hold nothing else back. Combining those two principles, if we are willing to die for our brethren, is there anything else they might need that we would withhold? Finally, we protect each other from all dangers, especially that roaring lion looking to devour us. We help. We hold. We cry. We pray. The better we get at these things, the more obvious it becomes that we won’t reject those confessing a need for help. That gives us even more opportunities to show the love God taught us (1 John 4:19) and makes it easier for those with heavy burdens to ask for help. And we become the family God always wanted us to be.
Lucas Ward
Comments