BECAUSE HE LOVES US
“And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
Jonah 4: 8 - 11
King James Version
I believe when God made this statement to Jonah that He said it with great sadness in His heart “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” Jonah was angry because of the gourd and never once thought about the people. I think that the same thing is true with us today.
I have read in the paper where people got so angry over a building project that was going to be delayed that they threatened to sue. There are times when we are more interested in building huge buildings and creating parks that cost a lost of money and other expensive buildings that have no eternal value and that one day will crumble than we are in spreading the good news of a risen Saviour. If we will listen with our hearts, we will hear God saying to us “Is constructing buildings and objects more important to you than people are?”
We are guilty at times of spending thousands and even millions of dollars on building projects while we ignore the people who are sleeping in the streets and the children who do not have enough food to eat or clothes to wear. These huge buildings and beautiful parks will someday be gone. However, the unconditional love and compassion of Jesus that we extend to these precious children and to the ones who are sleeping on the streets when we feed and clothe them will not only comfort them, encourage them and warm their hearts and bodies but the memories of our kindness, compassion and love to them will last forever in their hearts.
A lot of churches have ministries for the homeless. Many years ago, I personally knew someone who was sleeping on the streets. This person went to a church and asked for food and clothing. This person was told “If you come to church on Sunday, we will see about feeding you and clothing you.” May God have mercy on that person and on us if we have ever said this! Thank God that not all churches have this policy.
Most churches understand that if we are going to reach the homeless for Jesus, we must first feed and clothe them. Also, if the church has the facilities to do so, we should allow them to take a shower. I guarantee you that if the person stinks, he or she is not going to want to go to church.
We read in the Bible “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit”(James 2: 14, 15)?
It is time that we get back to loving people as we have been commanded to do. It is urgent and extremely important that we start loving people to Jesus. The only way we will be able to love people to Jesus is by our actions. We can tell them Jesus loves them but we must prove it by our actions, our kindness and the compassion that we extend to them.
One day, every one of us will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way we served Jesus and the way we treated others. What will He say to you? Will He look at you with a smile on His face and say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?” or will He look at you with a look of hurt and tears in His eyes? Will you be able to look Him in the eyes or will you have to hang your head in shame because you didn’t tell others about the unconditional love of Jesus?
Jesus proved His love for us when He died on the cruel cross of Calvary. He allowed them to torture Him, abuse Him, mutilate Him and beat Him beyond recognition because He loves us. Do we love Him? If so, what are we doing to prove to Him that we love Him?
Joanne Lowe
September 28, 2008
