Loving a Neighbor

Christ’s call to love your neighbor as you love yourself is as simple as it is difficult.  

Understanding Jesus’ love for me, and seeing the way that he completely expended himself in order to communicate that love  compels me to obey his command.  His Holy Spirit inspires me to strive after his glorious ideals, and helps me to follow after him.  But it is a struggle for sure. 

At a practical level, one thing that we have done here in Santa Fe, is plug in to a church that embraces Jesus’ mission.  And, although there are other churches here that exalt Jesus, we love BlazeChristian Fellowship because it’s a place we can bring our neighbors and invite our friends and family to.  It’s a cool church that loves this city and it’s a place where outsiders are welcome. 

I have also prayed for opportunities to actively love my neighbors and asked God to help me engage them with the truths of his Gospel.  Over the past few months, I’ve had some amazing interactions.

 

But, one conversation leaves me haunted.  One of them leaves me asking myself: Did I love my neighbor well enough?

I met my parents neighbor a few years ago when my brother and I went over to introduce ourselves and chat.  He was a cool guy about 4 years younger than I am.   He and his buddies were really into working on, modifying and building rat rods, 4 Wheel drive trucks, rock crawler jeeps and stuff like that.  Their large corner lot looked like a practical junk yard full of car parts, axles, wheels, trailers and tools.  In the summer time there would almost always be 4 or 5 guys in their garage hanging out, welding, turning wrenches, drinking beers and chain smoking all day and into the night. 

Shortly after meeting him, I began praying for him.  (not as often as I should have….not too consistently)   He was  artistic and creative guy who was as friendly and helpful as he was profane.  But the more I got to know him the more excited I would get thinking about how cool it would be if he gave his life to Jesus.

Six weeks ago I went down the street to borrow a tool and hang out for a bit.  He looked tired and as we hung out he started coughing and I remarked that it might be a good time to quit smoking!  He told me that he actually had a tumor in a his lung.  It wasn’t cancerous, but it was growing.   He indicated that he was getting some tests done and was trying to figure out the finances of it all.

A couple weeks later, I went over again.  In just a few weeks, he had lost weight and he wasn’t getting out too much.  He wasn’t working and I could tell things were pretty serious.  It was the middle of the day and we sat down at his table.  His kitchen counter top was full of medical paper work I told him how I’d been praying for him.  We talked about illness and how it’s a result of Sin and the fall.  I told him about my dad and about J.C.Ryles words regarding God’s purposes in sickness.  I asked him about his spiritual beliefs. 

He told me he had a Bible, but reading it was somewhat “depressing” to him.  He’d grown up in the Catholic church, but he looked at me and said “basically, I believe in myself.”  He talked about staying positive, relying on what’s inside, depending on yourself and fighting hard.   I told him, that I believed that sickness does a good job of  revealing our frailty and weakness and self confidence –especially during illness is not able to truly bring hope.  God is our strength and we talked about my dad’s faith in Jesus and the true peace that he experienced because he trusted in God.  Not himself. 

It was good.  We talked about surgical options, doctor’s opinions and other aspects of life.  But, I felt truly burdened for him.  I hoped as I left that by God’s power, the mention of God’s might, would provoke him to open his Bible and understand truth.  He didn’t seem open to Jesus, and was full of misconceptions.  Above all, he was trusting in the wrong thing.  I left praying that God would use his sickness to change him and draw him to himself. 

I wanted to go over again.  I wanted to continue our conversation.  I prayed that God would work thru his suffering. 

Last Tuesday, our neighbor died.  I could not believe it.  He had plummeted so fast and I thought he had more time. 

Though we’d talked of God in our last conversation, I really don’t have much to be encouraged about.  I had hoped we’d have at least one more talk before I left town.  I wondered if I should have pressed him harder, and wished I had tried more intensely to convey to him how worthless it is to rely on self instead of Jesus.  I’d mentioned sin, but should I have said more about  his personal sin?  I really didn’t feel like we got to hammer on our utter need for a savior.   In addition.  I cared about him, and I wondered and hoped that he felt cared for during his last days.  He had many friends, and I was basically still an acquaintance.  But, did I show Christ’s concern for his life thru my actions?  I really wish I would have visited him more in those last two weeks! 

Life was busy.  But in the end, I thought he had more time.  Everyone did I think. 

I arrived at his house about 10 minutes after he passed and it was thoroughly sad.  I was concerned for his soul, and so our grief for him has been lacking hope.   As  when he was alive, upon his death, his house was a hub of masculine energy.  The street was lined with trucks and guys were everywhere!    It would have been so glorious if it was all transformed by the Gospel.  If he had come to Christ, he could have been a witness to many, many men…..men who would typically be reluctant to set foot in a church.

Stephanie and I felt like satan was victorious in his death.  And we mourn the fact that we didn’t have more time to talk with him about Jesus and that he wasn’t able to shine as a witness for Jesus.   He will be missed by us, and by many, many more.   And we will pray for guidance and strength to love our neighbors well.  

Why we join Community Groups

 In order to truly be growing in our relationship with God, experiencing Gospel-centered fellowship and participating in the Christ-exalting mission of the Church (Matt 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) we must be a part of a small group.

We’ve been back in town just over three weeks now and so this past Wednesday we attended our first community group with Blaze Christian Fellowship.  We would have attended sooner, but the week before was Stephanie’s birthday and I decided to take her out to dinner.    It’s important to get plugged into the local church right away, and I fundamentally believe being part of a community group is the best and most effective way to do that.   Since being back in town we have consistently attended the worship services as well as a large outreach/service event.  When we were around this summer, we went to the annual church picnic.   Those are all very important venues for connection, but I am convinced that in order to truly be growing in our relationship with God, experiencing Gospel-centered fellowship and participating in the Christ-exalting mission of the Church (Matt 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) we must be a part of a small group.   In our CRU ministry at Cornell, we uphold Community Groups as our primary vehicle for both discipleship and evangelism. 

We picked a great week to start because it was Frito-Pie week!  Once a month the group eats together and has a more informal hang out time.   We all gathered in one of the members homes and I chowed three full bowls of fantastic red chile and beans while talking and getting to know other people.  Our kids were with us, and they too got to eat and make new friends.   It was fun and familial and everybody seemed really cool  -as people usually do when you first meet them;)  After eating we simply chilled and eventually someone started up a game of Mad Gab.  I don’t like games really, and I would have preferred to remain on the couch talking about trucks and chainsaws with some of the other guys, but playing together is a great way to get to know others and have a shared experience, so I jumped in with both feet.   Sadly my team got destroyed! 

A more typical meeting will include time studying the Bible, sharing about life and praying together.  Joining this new small group I have some specific hopes, desires and things I want to see.   

First of all, we are joining a small group for our spiritual health.  A Small group is a place where we are reminded of the good news and enabled to live in light of it.  

Our God is a glorious and amazing God.  He loves us and he has created us to live life intimately connected to him.  He is the source of life and joy and satisfaction.   He also created us to live in fellowship with all the other people he loves.  The Christian life is meant to be lived in community, like a family, with God as our father. 

We are created in God’s image and that is why we are such relational beings.   Our Trinitarian God himself dwells in community; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist within a loving fellowship and he made us to do the same.   God is a loving community and he created us to live life in loving community and he has declared plainly that it is not good for man to live alone.   Sin decimated our relationship with God and completely jacks up our relationships with others, but Jesus’ death on the cross conquers sin, and thru him and with him we can experience the joy-filled fellowship with God and others that we were made for.   In a small group, we get together with others to live rightly remember the truth and worship our amazing God. 

In a small group you get to sit with people who know you and who know you who can help you apply the gospel to your life.  It’s easy to show up to a worship service, sing some songs and hear some good teaching, but we need more than that.   I heard one teacher explain that we can experience conviction at a church service, but it’s in a small group that we experience repentance and thus real transformation.  I think we can receive exhortation during corporate worship, but in order to really live Christ-like we need the encouragement that comes in the small group setting.  

A small group is a place where we can be around older wiser Christians who can help us follow Jesus and experience his power in our lives.   

We really want to be a part of a group with some older married couples.  I asked to be in this one because I know one of the couples and I think we could really benefit from some time with them.  Not only are we currently walking thru difficult times, but Stephanie and I are in sort of a difficult and complex stage of life!  We need role-models and people around us who can support us and coach us and help us.  Words like discipleship, accountability, challenge and discipline all come to mind, but it all boils down to truth and grace.  We need people around us pointing us to God’s words of life and we need kind, loving, help –even when we don’t deserve it.

A small group is a place where we can participate in mission.   

Jesus has called and commissioned and empowered us as his followers to spread his name and advance his kingdom all over the earth.  A month ago we were living in New York, and today we are in New Mexico and in both places we are called to witness for Christ.  While here in Santa Fe we are praying that God would use us to advance the Gospel and I have specific friends and relatives who I am praying for intentionally.  But again, as the Christian life was not meant to be lived alone, the Christian mission was not meant to be done alone.   Jesus himself, as God did ministry in community with the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as his group of disciples.  Whenever he sent his guys out, he sent them in pairs or small groups.   In order to spread the good news and see people come to salvation we need the power of the Holy Spirit and the support of the body of Christ.  I want to be a part of a small group where we are praying together for people to see God’s glory.    I want to be a part of a small group where we can invite friends and relatives to experience gospel fellowship and see God’s grace in action.   I want to be a part of a small group where I can bring people to encounter Jesus. 

I’m joining this small group because it’s a connected to a church that I really love and believe in.  (It’s important for there to be some structure and helpful to maintain order to have the group leaders connected to and accountable to the elders and church leadership etc.)   Though I have not lived in Santa Fe for many years now, I have known the pastoral staff here for a while and have been attracted to the vision and potential of Blaze Christian Fellowship since the beginning.  The vision of Blaze is To spark a passion for God through His Gospel in the hearts of people so that they inturn ignite the world around them for Jesus Christ -but I before I read that on the website, I saw it being modeled in the life of the pastors and members.  My heart beats for that, and I want to join with others to se that happen!   I want to see thousands and thousands of people in Santa Fe, NM come to know God.  And the way to effectively be a part of all that is to be in a small group. 

The group I went to the other night was a little bit too big I think.  There were probably enough people in that group to form two healthy community groups.  But to be honest, I would rather have a group that’s kind of big than a group that’s too small because we have a big mission!  And since our God is big and our mission field is big, I like having a team that’s big. 

A current ‘buzzword’ is Missional Community.   A missional community is just a group of people who love Jesus, who worship Jesus, who trust in Jesus who are following Jesus together,  on mission –making disciples of all nations.   Fundamentally, I believe a small group should be more than a bible study, more than a small group of people who like each other, more than a weekly accountability time, more than a class.   I think this group will be a missional community and that’s why we joined.