Today my message is “They do not care how much you know until they know how much you care!”
We want to share our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ with everyone because Jesus can change their lives. Unfortunately, we sometimes put the teaching ahead of the relationship and never get a chance to be heard.
Today, we will look at how to reach out by caring enough to care!
First, we look at what God has to say about the source of caring, which is based in the act of love.
John 13:34-35 NIV
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Mahatma Ghandi, when asked by missionary E. Stanley Jones how Christianity could be more acceptable in India, stated: “I would suggest, first, that all of you Christians…begin to live more like Jesus Christ!” 1
This is the beginning of the process of caring for your neighbour. Love God and live that love out in your life. Then use God’s love to love your neighbour. Another way to say this is “Concentrate on loving God and God will give you the love for your neighbour.”
Mark 12:28-31 NIV
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
This is what Jesus taught when He walked on this earth. Jesus showed God’s love, spoke God’s love and commanded us to love.
1 John 4:19-21 NIV
19 We love because he first loved us.
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
To love your neighbour requires work. We must work on our attitudes, lifestyles, and our actions. This is a lot of effort on our part, but the results are amazing.
Eph. 4:1-2 NIV
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Our efforts to love arise from allowing God to perfect us. God created us and is daily helping us to be polished and trimmed to be like Jesus.
Carole Mayhall, in her book “Filled to Overflowing”, gives us this idea of how God works on us.
“A sculptor once fashioned a magnificent lion out of solid stone. When asked how he had accomplished such a wonderful masterpiece, he replied, “It was easy. All I did was to chip away everything that didn’t look like a lion.” All God does is chip away everything in our lives that doesn’t look like Christ.” 2
Rom. 13:9-10 NIV
9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
We need to go beyond this rule and not only love our neighbours but to also reach out in love to care enough to get to know them, so we can really help.
Heb. 13:1-3 NIV
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and much sharper than the ear.
Fine counsel can confuse me, but example’s always clear.
The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
Author unknown 3
When we understand how our neighbour/brother sees real caring, then we know how to care for them. Once we really care for them, then they will believe that what we say has value. They will accept our words because of our actions.
Every time one of you cares, it shows! Those who give rides to the ones who cannot drive, those that help a person/family move, the ones who go have tea with the ones stuck at home, the people who say to the tired parent “go have a break, I have the kids”, when you stop to help someone who is stuck, helping a person get their groceries to their car, provide some food, give a smile away, give a word of encouragement. These are just a few of the ways to show you care. People remember these actions way longer than a sermon.
If you want to tell someone about Jesus, show them Jesus in action first!
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