What is love?

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-10 (NKJV)

In our modern times, there are many efforts to create a "multicultural" community. Most of them are nominally secular, but there are many which are religious in nature as well. The secular efforts tend to revolve around the idea that because we're living in post-scarcity times, conflict is harmful and unnecessary for survival, and so we should all just learn to get along. The religious efforts tend to revolve around the idea that because the material world isn't what is most important, conflict is harmful and unnecessary for eternal survival, and so we should all just learn to get along.

Christians are not excluded from this, and while there is support for the idea that Christianity is "international" or "multi-national", Christianity creates a monoculture of its own, and a lot of folks genuinely don't understand that. To build this case, we need to start with a somewhat controversial passage where Jesus is speaking about those who would follow him.

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. - Matthew 10:34-39 (NKJV)

So, right off the bat, Jesus clearly states that following him is going to cause conflict with even those who we share the most. If family is beset against family because of Jesus Christ, what is going to happen to the larger community? Family can be viewed as the smallest unit of community, and if Jesus Christ is causing disruption at the foundational level, then everything else built upon that foundation will also be impacted.

God has always desired a direct relationship with his followers, even in the Old Testament.

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. - 1 Samuel 8:6-7 (NKJV)

It was not God's desire that hierarchies and systems of authority be put in place between him and his people, but their rebellious nature and "stiff necks" required a constant escalation of authoritarianism to keep them in line, up to and including being conquered by foreign enemies and having all their wealth pillaged. While God's people sought to make their own way, the promises of God were null and void, regardless of the permanence he offered through them, because his bargain with Israel was not unconditional.

Likewise, Jesus Christ explains, through various parables and analogies and whatnot, that what people naturally value in this life will not remain so. Many folks know the parable of the rich young ruler who would not give up his material possessions to follow Jesus Christ, but this theme was a common one among his teachings.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

If such things are true, it's not that the things we naturally value are bad or intrinsically wrong, but that they should not be our priority. The things we have by our own hands should not be what drives our choices and shapes our behavior.

And if we're actively implementing this in our lives, we're going to have conflicts because others may not have the same priority, even within our own families.

Recently, I had shared with my wife some materials on the nature of many popular holidays, even among Christians, and just how synthetic those traditions are. When the vast majority of holidays have no scriptural support for their practice, let alone evidence that the early church found such things worthy of celebration. A big example of this is Christmas.

Many folks are familiar with the "put Christ back in Christmas" meme, but the date for Christmas was set hundreds of years after his death by a pagan ruler of Rome. Scriptural evidence as to the timeframe for Jesus birth points to a different time of year than winter, because the traditions of the Hebrews would not have had them with their flocks out in the fields at night in the middle of winter. Even worse, people want to make the celebration of Christmas "acceptable" by treating it as a "redeemed tradition". Do folks not know of the history of the Talmud?

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. - Mark 7:5-9 (NKJV)

If traditions, if family, if the values that a Christian has are at odds with those around them, what hope is there for unity?

That's where love comes back into play.

Love as comes from God overlooks disparities on those things and brings his family together because the priority is singular in Jesus Christ, not on various traditions, families, etc. There are byproducts to the pursuit of Jesus Christ, and that is love for one another, but we cannot get that result by trying to just love one another through brute force. Nor can we ignore that there will be unity through Jesus Christ that is impossible by any other means.

Love, genuine love, as talked about in the opening passage of scripture, is something that people simply cannot summon for anyone else of their own accord. We can't afford it. We're already owing a debt we cannot ever repay, and we think we could shoulder someone else's burdens? Such thoughts are arrogant and foolish!

Genuine love is something that we need God's support in order to manifest, and if we are truly seeking after Jesus Christ and are becoming more like him, then our priorities will look like his priorities, and our sacrifices will be done in love just like his sacrifices. But we aren't the one whose sacrifices matter to others. Our works "in Jesus' name", are not the Gospel.

What is the Gospel?

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. - John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

And what is our greatest priority in this life? What did Jesus tell us specifically we should be doing?

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. - Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

Is our priority to "put Christ back in Christmas"? No.

Is our priority to feed and clothe the homeless? No.

Is our priority to make peace between warring peoples? No.

Is our priority to bring heaven to earth? No.

Is our priority to sustain communities and traditions? No.

Our priority is to tell all nations about Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation, and then walk with them through the process of sanctification, of being disciples, of drawing closer to Jesus Christ and behaving and thinking more like him each day.

That is how we love the world. That is how we love one another. That is how "the Church" will be a multi-national entity, because we don't lose our physical bodies and our history when we are saved, but it will be a monocultural entity as well, because regardless of where we start in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we're all converging on the same focal point. We're all heading to the same place, and as we draw closer to Jesus Christ we can also find that we are drawing closer to one another at the same time.

We manifest love by tapping into God's strength and by focusing on God's priorities, because what most people think of as "love" is a weak and unreliable feeling that leaves much to be desired. Love is the glue for relationships, but we don't know how to make it or use it, and so we must look to the one who loved us when we were anything but lovely to serve as the example and guide for how we are to then love others.

Focus on Jesus Christ, his teachings, and the rest will come in time. Do not fret when your path leads you away from friends, family, communities, because if you're drawing closer to Jesus Christ, you'll never truly be alone.