Submitted by Robin Pengelly
If people know nothing else about Jesus, they usually know that he talked a lot about love. In Matthew 22:37-39, Mark 12:29-31, and Luke 10:27, three different books in the Bible, he is recorded as saying that we are to love God and one another.
I don’t think it’s an accident that he pairs these two things. If we try to live out our faith in and love for God independently of other people, we meet only half of Jesus’ commandment. We may love God, but we also must love one another. Love is a verb and must be lived out through action.
How we treat other people is an important way to demonstrate our love for God.
Micah 6:8 says, “What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
At a time when animal sacrifice was a common religious practice, Jesus quoted the Prophet Hosea saying, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13, Hosea 6:6)
One doesn’t need to be religious to be a good person, and obviously being part of a religion doesn’t automatically make you a good person. We have all seen examples, both uplifting and troubling, that support this statement. But you can’t be a good person without being good to other people.
Now, I confess to being pretty introverted for someone in my profession. Left to my own devices, I might just stay in my own home and putter about most of the time. But I’ve come to the conclusion that being an active part of a spiritual community and not just living a privately spiritual life, is an important part of living a life of wholeness.
Intimate settings of small community, such as a church congregation, are where we demonstrate our love for one another through our day to day interpersonal actions and our work together. We journey together, pray for one another, and work together to grow God’s justice in our spheres of influence. We both challenge and support one another to live into our whole potential at whatever age or stage of life we may be.
Our love for God might be bigger than our relationships with one another, but it can’t be separated from them either. Mercy, kindness, and seeking justice, these are how we show love to both the world and the divine.
Robin Pengelly is the pastor of Castlegar United Church.
READ MORE: FAITH: Separation of Church and State