N.T. Wright On Love
May 12th, 2009 by Victor
“Love is the language Jesus spoke, and we are called to speak it so that we can converse with him. It is the food they eat in God’s new world, and we must acquire the taste for it here and now. It is the music God has written for all his creatures to sing, and we are called to learn it and practice it now so as to be ready when the conductor brings down his baton. It is the resurrection life, and the resurrected Jesus calls us to begin living it with him and for him right now. Love is at the very heart of the surprise of hope: people who truly hope as the resurrection encourages us to hope will be people enabled to love in a new way” – N.T. Wright, “Surprised by Hope” taken from Top Ten Excerpts by Raffi Shahinian
How is the love of a Christian different from that of those around them? Are Christians just to be good people who are kind to their neighbors? If so, how then does being a member of the Church differ from being a boy scout?
I agree with N.T. Wright that love is the primary duty of the Christian. I also agree that a good way to summarize how Christians should live now is in light of the nature of the world to come. We should be marked by the ethics of the next age. If this is the case, how then does love, or our love look and/or how does it differ from what many would consider love among those who are not Christians?
I think our love, or rather Christ’s love in and through us, is different than the world’s in that it requires no reciprocation or prerequisite. Remember how our Lord taught us to love even our enemies? He said that if we only love those who reciprocate then how is that better than the IRS. Our love requires no prerequisite because we are to love even those who hate us. This love, according Christopher Hitchens and other non-believers, is wildly impractical and even morally degenerate. But, through the eyes of faith we see the kingdom and it’s brimming with heinous sinners who God reached through love when they were yet undeserving and dead in sin. The kingdom will be filled with all kinds of “ex-es”: ex-child molesters, ex-murders, ex-alcoholics, ex-drug addicts, ex-atheists–”ex-es” of every stripe from every tribe, language, and nationality. As the people of the kingdom, both collectively and individually we are to be a preview of coming attractions. The love we express among ourselves is extended to the villain as well and in this way our love is perfected and it testifies to the world to come. Maranatha.
I think you’re on to something there brother Sean. Perhaps it is our love for our enemies and strangers and those who have hurt us without seeking something in return or waiting for them to love first is the thing that makes our love/love of Christ different. How important than is it for us to understand the teachings of Jesus to love ones enemy and do good to those who hate you. It seems like we have limits of our love though we know on a certain level of Jesus said, but we draw the line when it seems crazy or too radical and we begin to question what Jesus really meant.
In many cases Christians can’t even manage to love each other, let alone their enemies. It sounds good in theory, and I look forward to the kingdom when it will be a reality. But I wonder how much we can actually see it in practice in this life.
Hi Victor,
you asked
My question in return would be, Who says that the love of a Christian different from that of non-Christians around him/her? Could it be that this idea of a difference between the love of a Christian and the love of a non-Christian is already incorrect?
Does a Christian husband love his wife differently than a non-Christian husband loves his wife (that is, cares for her, esteems her, etc.) ? If a Christian sees someone in need and out of love decides to get involved in the person’s life and help them with their need, and if a non-Christian finds himself in the same situation and does the same out of love … is there a difference? Is the love shown by the Christian “better” than that shown by the non-Christian? I don’t think so …
Christians seem to have this idea about their love for one another and others being superior to the love that is seen among non-Christians ….but I do not see any such difference (aside from the fact that I’ve seen non-Christians at times showing more love for others than some Christians) As the above comments already show, it seems more or less impossible to point out where such difference would be …. seems evident, that there most likely is no such difference and this “nice sounding” idea is more wishful thinking than biblical or practical reality.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Christianity went extinct about the 4th century AD, what you think as a Christian is one who claims Christianity but has no idea what a Christian really is or does.they should be called Man-ian. this is why there is more godly people than so called Christians
Hi Robert,
why are you assuming things, such as what I think as a Christian ? Making assumptions and then basing comments on your assumptions seems to almost be your trademark … Would it not be better to stop assuming and to just answer questions asked in a post and/or to make simple comments based on what has actually been written in a post ?
Actually, I am not thinking at all about people “who claim Christianity but have no idea what a Christian really is” when I speak of “a Christian”. …
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Wolfgang
that was just a fact and wasnt address to anyone, trying to figure you out would take to much time.
I give you a new command, to love one another – as I have loved you, you are to love one another; by this everyone will recognize that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34, 35 – Moffatt
Though the issue may be muddled by centuries of false religion masquerading as Christianity; we who love God and His son have no reason to be cynical about the clarity of the Lord’s command to love according to the standard of the Messiah’s example. This love, according to Jesus’ words, clearly distinguishes true disciples from unbelievers.
Whether we are perceived as loving or not by a confused world (i.e. the world will hate us as it hated our Lord – John 15: 18ff) we should be undaunted in efforts to love as Jesus did, caring deeply with self- sacrificial service reflected in prayers, speech and actions. The “world” does not care if people enter God’s kingdom or not, even when people are “nice” to one another. Jesus did care. So should we. This difference from worldly “love” should be recognizable, if Jesus’ words are taken seriously.
Amen
Hi Ken (and all)
thanks for some inspiring thoughts … with which I also agree. Yet, the question for me remains, how is the love Christians have for one another and others around them different from the love non-Christians may have for others?
Sure, Christians might as part of expressing their love for others engage in “evangelizing” others, that is, in caring if people enter God’s kingdom … and this activity might not be part of how a non-Christian expresses their love for others …. BUT, does this make a Christian “love” for others better than the “love” a non-Christian? Also, the words of Christ which you mentioned concern the love “among disciples” (“that ye love one another”) … he did not address “evangelizing” as “act of love” in this context.
So then, does the Bible teach that love of believers in Christ which they can extend to their neighbor (“love your neighbor as yourself”) is of a different quality or of some other difference to the love an unbeliever may have for their neighbor (whether it be another unbeliever or a believer)? As I have heard believers claim in the past, it almost sounded as if unbelievers were unable (did not have the ability) to “really” love another person, and that only believers could “really” love others … is such what the Bible teaches? or is it a “theological” assumption which is not based on Scripture?
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Hi everybody,
to add some further questions / thoughts to my earlier comment … perhaps answering these questions will help understand the biblical topic “love” better?
Do all people have an inherent ability “to love” others, or this is a specific ability which a person starts having once they become a Christian / a believer?
Who or what determines if and how a person “loves” another?
What actually is “love” or how could it be “defined” (such as, “it is a feeling”, “it is an emotion”, “it is a reasonable decision”, “it is a spiritual gift”, or ?)
Cheers,
Wolfgang