“You have never talked to a mere mortal…It is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.”--C.S. Lewis. Lewis’ point is that there is never a person we encounter who is “insignificant”. Everyone we know, everyone we meet, is a person of priceless value, an eternal soul, who Jesus died to save, and who is deeply, personally, and perfectly loved by God.
3 comments:
I have to admit that I'm confused on how this relates to who we are to love. Everyone is created by God and God loves everyone. That much I understand. We are told to love God, which is the no-brainer part of that commandment, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our neighbors can be anyone that we come into contact with...
1 John talks about loving a Christian brother or sister. Now maybe he just wasn't speaking completely inclusively because he was trying to make a different point, but I am confused. Are we to love everyone, met and unmet, Christian and non-Christian, because God loves them all or are only those that believe Jesus died to save them included in this?
I've been puzzling over this for weeks now and I'm not making alot of headway myself. :)
There is not complete agreement on the answer to your question, even within the Christian community. And, to be honest, I’m not sure I can answer your question very well, either. But here’s a thought…
I think Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that we are supposed to love everyone including those who are not brothers and sisters in Christ. However, the love that we experience for a brother or sister in Christ may possibly be legitimately different in some ways than the love that we experience for those who are not followers of Christ. How can love be “different”? Well, for example, I just said that I believe Jesus calls us to love EVERYONE, however, my love for my children will be different than the love I have for a stranger who needs my assistance. And I can’t see how that could be any other way. (That doesn’t mean I’m right, I’m just saying it’s beyond me.)
Does this difference mean that I don’t love the stranger? No. But it’s not the same love that I have for my children or, for that matter, my wife, or my best friend.
So, can our love for a brother or sister in Christ be different than our love for someone who is not a Christian? I think it probably can.
Thanks Dan, that actually helped alot.
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