Compelled By Love
JESSICA ZAMBRANO
Love One Another
This is how we know what love is : Jesus Christ laid down his life for us . And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters . If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them , how can the love of God be in that person ? Dear children , let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth . ( 1 John 3:16-18 , NIV )
Are Christians today a reflection of God ’ s love and justice ? I think many non-Christians , when looking at the body of Christ , would say not ; that we are hypocrites . And I have to agree with them . Our downfall is that we make love and justice about us ; we try to administer them out of our own strength and goodwill , loosely guided by the Word of God on certain issues . It ’ s like we ’ ve forgotten that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love people . When we lose sight of the Gospel like this , of what we should care about and why , it ’ s easy to be led astray by nationalism , political parties , and even the ideas of fellow Christians . One thing I ’ ve been particularly hurt by in the past few months is Christian apathy and silence on social justice issues . We tiptoe around race , poverty , and immigration in an effort to remain neutral , but God doesn ’ t call us to neutrality ; He calls us to boldness . When we realize Christ ’ s love for us , we love Him and love others more deeply . We are compelled by love . We become aware of our position in Creation , that we are sons and daughters created in the Father ’ s image . The Father is Love and Just , and so He created us to be love and just also .
We tiptoe around race , poverty , and immigration in an effort to remain neutral , but God doesn ’ t call us to neutrality ; He calls us to boldness .
God ’ s love for us compels us to love Him and others . His love is unconditional and sacrificial . We are called to love one another as Christ loved us , and our love for one another is evidence of the love of God in us . We can love unconditionally and sacrificially , a perfected love , when our source is God . He is our definition of love , and he calls us to lives of active love . Love radically changes how we see those around us . When we love , we genuinely care about people . Our love for others , which comes from God , compels us to seek justice . Saying “ I love the impoverished / immigrants / marginalized / refugees / etc .” is not enough . Saying “ I ’ ll pray for you !” when you are able to act , give , or serve is not enough . God gave His only Son for us ; we are commanded to sacrifice our time , resources , and privilege for another . And we are commanded to love without reservations or fear . In the Christian life , this is not optional . It ’ s not for a small group of Christians ; it ’ s for everyone . The Bible even goes so far to say that if we don ’ t obey this command , we cannot love God . Just as we were created in God ’ s image of love , “ the Lord is a God of justice ,” and so we should be a people of justice . We actively fight for justice because our love compels us to and the Word of God commands us to . Isaiah 1:17 says , “ Learn to do right ; seek justice . Defend the oppressed . Take up the cause of the fatherless ; plead the case of the widow .” Increasingly , our university , nation , and world are impassioned to seek justice for various issues . What would it look like if the body of Christ joined in these causes , compelled by love ?
There are great organizations motivated by and acting in faith . One example is International Justice Mission ( IJM ). IJM is an international social justice organization , with a prominent human trafficking ministry . Typically the problem with international aid organizations and Christian mission trips is the top-down Western approach that is used , providing temporary resources and workers that are out of touch with the actual needs of the local communities . Contrary to this , local workers compose 95 % of IJM ’ s staff , and the goal is to empower community members to fight for justice in their own nations . Founder Gary Haugen established IJM as a response to his time in Rwanda after the genocide . IJM was founded on the premise that these people “ did not need someone to bring them a sermon , or food , or a doctor , or a teacher , or a microloan . They needed someone to restrain the hand with the machete — and nothing else would do .” The Gospel is a call to active , bold love . Proverbs 29:7 says , “ The righteous care about justice for the poor , but the wicked have no such concern .” Will we be Christians that care ?
Am I doing my part or living a life of hypocrisy ? I ’ ve been trying to be more intentional about seeking justice compelled by love and urging my fellow Christians to do the same . I find myself bringing it up in conversation with anyone who will listen to me . I recently found a group of like-minded Christians with regards to this , and we are pioneering an IJM-inspired anti-human trafficking student group here at Brown . I ’ m also trying to be more active in non-Christian social justice movements , locally and nationally , because I don ’ t think our extending of God ’ s love has to be explicitly religious , with the sole agenda of converting people . Rather we should love with pure intentions and the genuine passion for humanity that God has ; love for Love ’ s sake .
We must recognize that human love and justice are imperfect . We will never be able to bring about true justice from our efforts . That ’ s why it ’ s so important that social justice efforts should be compelled by Love , with a capital L , God ’ s Love . Because His Love triumphs all .
Jessica Zambrano is a junior concentrating in Urban Studies .
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