Tough Love

Paul puts it out there and challenges the Corinthians. In chapter 7, he says, "I am not sorry that I sent a severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it...because the pain caused you to repent (turn) and change your ways." (vv. 8-9, NLT)

I was at a conference last week, where tough love was given. We are called to love our neighbors and love our enemies. This requirement is not given by Paul, but by Jesus himself. It is a requirement to get into the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be a citizen, or adopted by the King, you have to obey the kingdom's constitution, its commands. The object lesson here: Muslims. They are our neighbor. Many Christians believe them to be our enemies. If we want to call ourselves followers of Jesus (Y'shua, Isa), we have to love. There are no loopholes.

One teacher talked about how the Samaritans in Y'shua's day might be the Muslims of the 21st century. They have a different holy book. They look back to Moses as a forerunner of the faith in one God. They believe in good works and piety as deeply important. They were considered foreigners (Luke 17.12ff.). They avoid images according to the ten commandments. They have a sense of being chosen. All these statements were true of the Samaritans and are true of Muslims today.

So maybe here's a retelling of a parable:

A village in Kenya did not have a school. The Baptists wanted to build a school in Nairobi that was easier to get to. The Catholics built a church in the village. World Vision thought that the work in the next village over would be enough help for this particular village. A Muslim from Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya, saw the need and rallied his community to build the school. They collected money and shipped materials for the walls and roofs. They arranged for equipment to level the area so the buildings would be on a firm, flat foundation. They told the principal of the school to contact them if they needed more, like books, paper, pencils, etc. Who then is the village's neighbor?

Most of Kenya calls themselves Christian. But you don't really know. There are animists, Muslims, Hindi and other religions too. So who acted as a follower of Y'shua, loving their neighbor and loving their enemy?