"He had compassion... go and do the same"
…He first loved us (1 John 4:19). I never really understood this verse until a woman I hadn’t really noticed began to pursue me. Slowly, I responded to her persistent overtures until I realised she had provoked in me a sentiment that resonated with the love she had for me. And then I understood that I do not love God out of my own resources or efforts; I simply respond to God’s lavish love for me.
In his first letter, John writes a lot about love. For him, it is proof of how genuine our salvation is. An ancient story tells that he endlessly repeated his injunction ‘Little children, love one another’, to the exasperation of some of the younger members of the Christian community. The Apostle of Love had come a long way from being a Son of Thunder (Mark 3:17). I am sure many of us working in the mission field often feel more like calling down fire from heaven (Luke 9:54) on those who don’t receive our message than persisting in faithful love for them.
And therein lies our challenge: we are called to love the unlovely, the hostile and antagonistic, the corrupt, the uninterested and indeed all the different types of people that we come across in the police stations, immigration offices, shops, schools, farms and churches where our work takes us, yet we so frequently run out of love. We give so much that the well runs dry, and a relationship is damaged as a result. We end up breaking down from exhaustion.
In the discussion preceding one of his most famous parables (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus makes it clear that we fulfil the greatest commandment by loving our neighbour as ourselves. Our devotion to God is expressed in our compassion for humanity, of which the Good Samaritan was a prime example as he rose above racism and hostility to care for his enemy even at risk to himself.
The ability to live like this can only come from God. As the Holy Spirit lives in us, so does the love of God, inspiring us and equipping us to love others (1 John 4:16). It should not be something that we have to force or fake – since we are born of God, it is only natural that the children should bear the family likeness, and do just what they see the Father doing (1 John 4:7).
When we find ourselves ill-equipped to express this compassion, when our resources have run out and we feel we have given all we have left to give, then it is time to read again 1 John chapter 4 and remind ourselves how much love God has given us…. and then pass some of it on.
This is the first in what we hope will become a devotional series, aiming to provide some spiritual input to complement the practical and pastoral support Syzygy provides for mission workers.
