One of the four principles of the Kingdom of God: Love. So we learn from scripture that we are called to love each other as God has loved us! Love is the main principle of Christian life, as it is the main principle of the Kingdom of God. But love must be understood not as something we do out of a feeling of well being but as something we do out of a sense of what is right because in many instances we are going to find that this love of God will lead us to risk our own safety and well being just as Jesus did (Philippians 2:1-8). So this love that our Holy Scriptures speak about it is not a sentimental matter, but rather, a objective and challenging reality.
Love in the Christian community is like the metaphor of mountain climbing. At this year’s Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Baltimore Washington Conference, Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of the Houston Annual Conference spoke of her family’s love of rock climbing, a metaphor that for me describes the experience of Christian love and Christian living. Rock climbing is something that should be done accompanied with other folks, so it is with our Christian living.
The Christian walk was never intended to be a solitary walk. We know that Jesus walks with us, or carries us when we cannot walk (as the poem suggests), and therefore we are never alone. But it does not mean that we only need Jesus for the walk. That is, from scripture we learn that to live in God’s will, to live in accordance with God’s new covenant it is not sufficient to say that me, my-self, and I (the human trinity) plus Jesus are enough. Our religion is not an individualistic religion, from the time of Creation until the time of Jesus God has been working with a community and in community. From the time of Jesus to the present God continues to work in and with communities, building-up the body of Christ.
As with those who practice rock climbing, if we are going to endeavor to climb the mountain of Christian living, we need those folks that are connected to us through the rope which ties together everyone who is on the climb. And, in a way, the Holy Spirit is the rope that keep us all connected.
Bishop Huie said: “Rock climbing is risky. Lots of slippery places. Some climbers aren’t experienced enough, not skilled enough, and they run out of energy.” This is why we need each other to climb the mountains of hate, despair, oppression, and abuse. This is why we need each other, and the love of God that has been poured in our hearts, a love that sometimes requires sacrifices. As Christians we cannot run the race alone we need each other, so that when one gets tired the other can pick up and help us get to our destination.
This is the reality of living in the Church. It is not the size of the church that determines how close we are to each other. It is the love of Christ that has been shed in our hearts that makes our walk in the Lord possible, that makes our work in the Church possible. Christianity is not about saving individuals for a heavenly Kingdom. Christianity is about building up the body of Christ in order to make a reality God’s Kingdom on earth. As the Lord’s prayer suggest: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Christians are the ambassadors of this Kingdom, as I mentioned last month in the newsletter:
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Co. 5:20).
We must love each other is order to make rock climbing of faithful living a possibility, we need to love each other in order for the Kingdom of God to be made a reality in the world. For this work to be successful we need the right equipment and the right support, as Bishop Huie suggested in her sermon. We all need to be equipped (prepared) and each other’s support to make God’s kingdom a reality in this world. This is the task of ALL believers.
