Loving God, Bleeding for Others
Learning how to Love and show Love.
By Pastor Adam Fox
On Saturday September 8th First Baptist Church hosted a Blood drive. The blood drive was hosted through Life Source and given the title "Just Do It For Jerry".
Gerald Erickson is member of our church family, a Lockport native, an Army Veteran and life long Cubs fan (bleh). Gerry has been diagnosed recently with a rare bone marrow disease that requires him to get transfusions of blood regularly.
By hosting the blood drive one of the goals was to help people like Gerry - people who need blood regularly, but that was not the only reason. Love was the other reason.
While donating blood is frightening to some folk or not worth giving up their Saturday morning. But let me tell you - the people that were lined up to give blood did it willingly for Gerry because they love him. And that is the point, we are to love Gerry but not just him but everyone.
Loving others is not a new lesson and it is something that is not just a Christian thing but something that most people in this world of ours can pick up upon.
Love is one of the attributes of God that is clear to us and something that we see in the Triune God. That the love of God the Father overflows to the Son - Jesus - to us through the Holy Spirit. A love that gushes like a fountain without end.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9
While Jesus takes this truth that was written so many years before He came to Earth, this important part of the Law and made it even more real for us. As if it were not enough for us to love the Lord God Jehovah with all that we are and to teach and show others this love - we are to also love them too.
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
Jesus makes it clear to the teachers of the law, it is not enough to just love God and serve Him but we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Game changer.
Before Jesus put the cookies on the bottom shelf - I could treat anyone like I wanted to as long as I was a Good Christian. For example, I could ignore or be a jerk to each and every person I live near, work with and see daily. But as long as I come to church on Sunday and listen I am good - right?
Nope!
We cannot be two-faced believers where we act one way all week then become a different person on Sundays. We have to be the examples of God's great love to us and share that love with any and all that we come in contact with.
We need to be a people of love and not just any type of love - but a God like love. It is easy for me to love the Chicago Bears defense, my family and my wife (maybe not in that order). But a love for each and everyone I know and come into contact with a God like love.
That means love the waitress that drops your dinner order, the car in front of you who keeps their left turn signal on and the neighbor with the dog that barks all night. Even to more difficult people like those who vote differently, the teen who "knows" more than you, the Black Lives Matter guys, the lesbian couple at work.... the list goes on.
Jesus tells us to love Him AND love everyone else and gives the perfect example for this. Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This radical story that can be found in Luke 10 shows an injured Jewish man and three opportunities for people to help him. A Levite, a Jewish man, and the hated Samaritan. Shock of all shock, the foreigner helps this dying man. Helps him and goes above and beyond in care for him.
This perfect parable that Jesus teaches us about loving God through love of your fellow man is not just known in the hallways of the church but around the world. This story perfectly sums up what it means to love others - to live out the Greatest Commandments. But one way to look at this story is put yourself in the sandals of the injured man.
Who would you want to help you in this time of great need?
What if you were the Samaritan in the story? Would you seek to help the hated enemy? The person you despise from your core? What if it were today and you come across someone you dislike, despise or hate? Maybe the person is:
- a person of a different color or gender?
- an illegal alien
- someone who believes they are gender fluid
- a Green Bay Packer fan
When Jesus taught this passage, that we are to love others, the Master never qualified it for us. He never said that we are to love other people only after we have had enough coffee, when it is convenient, to those that treat us nicely or any other excuse. Just plain and simple - love everyone equally.
"3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit,but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2
And on September 8th, for me it was sitting in a lounge chair while professions stuck needles in me. I gave some of my blood to show love to people like Gerry - those that are sick and need help. Gerry Erickson was just one person we could show love for, there is a whole world full of more opportunities. And thankfully not all of them need blood.
Who do you struggle with in showing love unconditionally?
This perfect parable that Jesus teaches us about loving God through love of your fellow man is not just known in the hallways of the church but around the world. This story perfectly sums up what it means to love others - to live out the Greatest Commandments. But one way to look at this story is put yourself in the sandals of the injured man.
Who would you want to help you in this time of great need?
What if you were the Samaritan in the story? Would you seek to help the hated enemy? The person you despise from your core? What if it were today and you come across someone you dislike, despise or hate? Maybe the person is:
- a person of a different color or gender?
- an illegal alien
- someone who believes they are gender fluid
- a Green Bay Packer fan
When Jesus taught this passage, that we are to love others, the Master never qualified it for us. He never said that we are to love other people only after we have had enough coffee, when it is convenient, to those that treat us nicely or any other excuse. Just plain and simple - love everyone equally.
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10
Love God, Love others is the Gospel in four words. We are to be humble enough to love others and see them as people that are our equals and loved by God as much as us."3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit,but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2
And on September 8th, for me it was sitting in a lounge chair while professions stuck needles in me. I gave some of my blood to show love to people like Gerry - those that are sick and need help. Gerry Erickson was just one person we could show love for, there is a whole world full of more opportunities. And thankfully not all of them need blood.
Who do you struggle with in showing love unconditionally?
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam
