Jesus in the Face of Others

This issue of Revive has been very challenging to me. If you've felt the conviction of God's Spirit reading articles about the need to love God wholeheartedly, imagine having to comb through the words again and again!

So what "next step" might God want us to take? If we've repented of our sins and refocused our passion on Jesus, what else is there?

As I asked myself that question, I remembered that Jesus actually told us what comes next. After giving us the first and greatest command, to love God with all that we are, He went on to reveal the second greatest: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).

Jesus didn't say, "Love yourself and share your surplus with a neighbor." He said, "Treat your neighbor as if he were you." That is, put his needs, desires, and wants above your own. Whatever nature tells you to do for yourself, do instead for him.

According to Jesus, loving God and loving people are inseparable concepts. We are to do for others with our lives what Jesus did for us with His.

The apostle John reinforces how closely connected our love for God is with our love for others: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.... Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:20-21).

The simple but powerful reality of this principle is illustrated by Jesus' fascinating account of Judgment Day, which He likens to a farmer separating the sheep from the goats. On that day, the righteous "sheep" were commended for personally caring for Christ in His times of physical and emotional need.

But the righteous had no idea what He was talking about. They asked, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:37-40).

The best way to keep your fire for Jesus burning is to throw yourself into the service of others. The unworthy. The destitute. The poor. The lost. Those with baggage. Those who need attention. The orphans. The widows. The single moms. The neighborhood on the other side of town. The addicted. The incarcerated. The persecuted. The diseased. The outsiders.

To miss out on a love relationship with Jesus is to miss everything. But when we love "the least of these," we love Christ. When we give cups of cold water in His name, we demonstrate the very love God demonstrated toward us. And we do well in the service of our Savior, our first love.