Houston, Florida, Mexico, and now Peurto Rico. Every day I wake up and there seems to be another natural disaster. Another loss of life. Another city destroyed.
Charlottesville, the NFL, and now Las Vegas. Every day I wake up and there seems to be one more event that is causing profound disagreement. Another story breaking that will also cause a break in a relationship, and possibly even a city. Another signal clarifying how disunified we are from our neighbors.
I don't want to waste this post stating my opinions or beliefs on these issues. I don't want to try and extrapolate some truths from these events; that will only further the distance between two sides, and trivialize the monumental impact these cities are currently trying to recover from. Instead, I want to offer an alternative. A different destination for our minds to wander and for our conversations to venture.
There is a word I learned my sophomore year of college from the greatest teacher I ever had, Doc Reece. The word was rarely used in the Greek language, mostly because of its specificity. However, the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), made the word infamous.
AGAPE
It means to "will the good" of someone. Literally, it means to love someone with such genuineness and selflessness that your ultimate desire is to see them become better than what they currently are. That could mean "willing the good" for them financially until they are able to make ends meet. it could mean "willing the good" as their dreamer and advocate when they are depressed. It could even mean "willing the good" for an enemy who has done nothing to warrant your favor or affection. "Agape" has nothing to do with how they feel towards you, or how they treat you. The burden of proof for this altruistic kind of love is placed squarely on the one giving it.
So, what does this kind of love mean for Houston, Florida, Mexico, and Puerto Rico? What does "agape" have to do with Charlottesville, the NFL, and Las Vegas? How does your mindset change when "agape" is the destination?
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For thousands of years, it was believed (and still believed in some cultures) that bad things only happen to bad people, and good things only happen to good people. If a bad thing happened to you, then you must figure out what bad thing you did and correct it. But, a good person would never help a bad person. They believed if you brought the "storm" on yourself, then you should deal with it. However, this entire concept changed because of one unknown attorney.
The attorney sits and listens to the greatest preacher he has ever heard. His friends had told him about this young zealot: how his stories left you spellbound and his teachings left you striving for greatness. However, as an attorney, he had learned to question everything, to look for the loophole. Maybe it was out of a desire to try and stump this great teacher, maybe it was sheer curiosity, or maybe it was something more, but whatever the case may be, he found himself at the next event with this teacher.
The young preacher didn't disappoint. He retold some of the same stories and truths that had garnered him such notoriety. But, seemingly inspired by something greater, began to challenge the very foundation of the religion he represented. He stated you must not only, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength", a teaching well-known to any Jewish man, woman or child, but that you must also "Love your neighbor as yourself." To do this was to fully live out God's plan for your life.
The audience is silent, almost indignant, but the young attorney is mesmerized. Who is this man that turns the very words of God on its head, and redefines what God "wants?" As a man accustomed to questioning everything, this left him in a very vulnerable position. He had questions, and the only person who had the answers was this teacher. So, at the next possible occasion, the young attorney once again found himself in the audience. And once again, the young preacher proceeds to unleash his revolutionary teaching.
As was common in Jewish culture, while the Rabbi taught, the audience sat. Jesus stood, and once again proclaimed his message of hope and love. And as was common, at the end of his teaching, Jesus opened himself up for questioning. Anticipating this, the attorney stood up in the crowd, and recited the question he had been practicing for weeks:
"Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life? Jesus replied, 'What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" Thrilled that his line of questioning was working according to plan, the attorney responds, "You must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength", and with the faintest smile continues, "and, you must love your neighbor as yourself." Thrilled that someone had answered completely, Jesus grins: "Right! Do this and you will live!"
But just as Jesus was about to walk off, the attorney stops him. Now it was time for the real question; what had been bothering him ever since he first heard Jesus preach. "And who is my neighbor?"
Nobody knew at this point that the most famous story of all time was about to be told. Nobody knew the phrase Jesus was about to coin would be turned into an idiom, monikered across hospitals, imprinted upon companies, and used as a universal statement of kindness and love. You know the story, even if you've never stepped foot inside a church.
Jesus told of a man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, a notoriously dangerous path when he was attacked by robbers and left for dead. A priest walks by and sees the naked and bloodied man. "He must have done this to himself", he thinks and continues walking. Next, an elder in his church (a Levite) walks by and sees the naked and bloodied man. "He must have done this to himself", he thinks and continues walking. Finally, a Samaritan walks by...
The hatred between a Jew and a Samaritan was not only common, it was socially and culturally acceptable. It was institutionalized racism. For a Jew to even speak to a Samaritan would ostracize them from their community and their friends. If a "good" Samaritan saw a naked and bloodied Jew along the road, he would ask, "Should I bother touching this man so that I can kill him?"
But, the Samaritan stops when he sees the naked and bloodied Jew. He bandaged his wounds, put his own coat on his back, sat him on his own donkey, and took him to the closest inn. He paid the innkeeper two days worth of pay to take care of the man and then promised to come back and reimburse the innkeeper for any additional expenses that might be incurred!
Jesus twists the knife of guilt further and further into the only other person standing...the attorney.
The audience stares: silent, indignant, mesmerized. Jesus pauses before asking one of the most history-defining questions of all time:
"Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"
Mesmerized, indignant, and nearly silent, the young attorney cannot even bring himself to say the word of the one who "willed the good" of his Jewish neighbor. He mutters, "The one who showed him mercy."
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There is a kind of love that looks beyond race, beyond politics, and beyond mistake. That kind of love only looks to "will the good" out of the one in which they have differences.
There is a kind of love that looks beyond their finances, time constraints, or physical distance. That kind of love only looks to "will the good" by bandaging the wounds and providing payment for the one who cannot do it themselves.
There is a kind of love that not only told the story of the good Samaritan but became the good Samaritan for you and me. He bandaged our wounds and healed our sins. He took the robe of a king off his back to place it on yours; calling you his child. He paid far more than two days wage for you. He paid with his life. And he asks us the same the question he asked that young attorney that fateful day: Who is the neighbor to the one who saw a need a met it? Who is the neighbor to the one who knew the price and paid it? Who is the neighbor to the one who "willed the good" from the one who didn't deserve it?
Love is the destination. Now go and do likewise.
Be Honest. Be Open.
This is the Christian Safe Zone.
