In John 13:34-35 Jesus said “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” We understand it’s not by preaching or teaching, it’s not by the things that we do, it’s whether or not we demonstrate that we love one another. We find this theme from this chapter on in John. Chap. 17 is a prayer for all his servants down through the ages. This brings the question, how do we rate as servants ? Are we one? Do we love one another?” Sometimes we doubt it.
Take a typical ecclesia if you will. We have all sorts, and I’m not talking about this one specifically, we have young, we have old, energetic and those who are not so energetic. We have people from all walks of life, perhaps floor sweepers to executives. Each has his own likes and dislikes. Each has his own hopes and his fears. We gather together from a radius of perhaps 15 miles. We set up a place to meet in, we get a constitution or by-laws or rules of some sort, but we’re still just a miscellaneous bunch of brothers and sisters and all our virtues and all our faults and all our strengths and all our weaknesses are going to play a big part in the well being of the ecclesia, or otherwise; maybe not the well being of the ecclesia. We’re the raw material. Just look at a few of them, but again not specific. Don’t look at the common hope that we have, we all know what that is. But look at the points of difference. Look at our idiosyncrasies. Look at our varying circumstances. We have worries which gnaw at us. We have desires which distract us. Look at the extremes.
Look at the older member who remembers when he or she was baptized. Everything was great and wonderful at that time. He had a new knowledge, a new light had come into a life. The breaking of bread, the exhortations, the prayers and all these things were great new experiences. Then they find out it’s not quite like it seemed to be. There are factions and differences. They’re not interested in what someone else said at the last business meeting when a proposition may have been affirmed or denied. They don’t care how badly somebody’s bringing up their children. They’d just rather talk about the service. And if this older type is like this, how about the younger? They’re all full of energy, generally too critical. An example is they may not think we’re alive in this ecclesia, not enough activities. Bible classes are poor, some think they could teach them better than they’re being taught. Youth circles are poor, there are no singing classes, and there are very poor lectures, and many old exhortations, and besides only a small percent of the brothers and sisters gather at these events.
Another one may not criticize the efforts of the old or the young but they’re overcome with their share of the burdens of this life. They can’t make ends meet. They never heard of the cost of living in the place where they work and give them an increase to help them out. Things don’t get easier as they’d hoped as they get older, instead they get a little tougher. They sacrifice most everything for their children, and maybe when one is in hospital the other complains. Besides, they don’t even get home from the meeting until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Imagine that! Etc.
Another one might be wealthy with this world’s goods, one that’s very eager and able to help the one’s that are poor and needy. But when he was younger he was more active. Took part in all the ecclesial matters, good organizer and able to put things over if you want to put it that way. Then he found he had a flair for business. Everything he touched turned out right, — or did it? He’s not quite as active now as he was before. And anyway he says, “give the young ones a chance. They don’t do enough.”
As I said, these are not specifics. You could go on. Did I exaggerate? Yes, I exaggerated. I’m only trying to make a point. If you don’t like my point make a list of your own and put yourself at the top of it. Just see. Take a good look at your failures and your accomplishments, and your faults instead of an-others, if you can see your own faults that is.
Back to Christ’s prayer in John 17. Christ prayed (v. 20) “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one.” Looking at these extremes, we can well become despondent feeling how far from this prayer that we are. If possible we could fulfill such a prayer, that we might be one, as they were. The raw material is very faulty as said. Truth must work on us as it did the disciples so many years ago when Christ was addressing them. But how like us they were. They were fearful when things went wrong just as we are. And they were ambitious when things seemed to go right. They doubted, they denied, but in the end they became one.
Christ said “Of those thou gayest me I have lost none.” Again, looking at our selves “Have we contributed to someone’s disillusionment? Do we fail to live up to the standards set by some new brother or sister? Are we impatient of youth’s criticism? Are we content with second rate service because it’s less trouble than first rate service? Have you paid a visit to someone who’s been absent for some time? The love and dedication which Christ’s law demands as we find here, can transform our personality and that’s the only thing that can. There is no other law or no other conduct code which will. For if we go by his standards the law against murder, you will recall, condemned anger. The law against adultery condemned just a lustful look. With these in mind, we can never say we’ve done enough. We must remember the rock in the parable is Christ. Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. We must trust in building our tower on the rock of faith in Christ’s unchanging world. And though not required to abandon the riches we might have, we are required to abandon the trust in those riches.
We shouldn’t belong to the crowd and that’s very popular today. We should be different from the majority, actually. Certainly different from the rebel minority who are the minority only because that’s different. Non-conformity as such, is really not good. If you recall, many times in Christ’s teachings he withdrew from, he went apart from them, speaking of his disciples, but later he called them unto him and he spoke privately to them. So while they were different from the majority they banded together in a strong minority in the service of Christ. In the truest sense of acceptable service, and that’s what we’re talking about, we find it recorded for us in Matt. 7:21-23 “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” And there’s two types before him at the judgment seat in this particular instance. The first is wordy and profuse, no doubt, in the lifetime he professed the name of Christ fervently, for to call him Lord, is the confession of faith. But the point is, it’s barren if it yields only words. Others call their works to witness. They were teachers, converted men and women, founded ecclesias; and to both Christ said, “I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” And so we must remember that neither membership in the ecclesia or actively proclaiming the gospel, or establishing ecclesias ensures our being judged a faithful servant in the day of judgment. It’s not words or deeds as such, but he that doeth the will of my Father. This requires much more than works, they may only be an external performance. We cannot do God’s will without works but we can do works without doing God’s will. We can do it for men’s admiration or for our own pride.
Christ’s law is the law of love. For us, the unity of mind and will in love may be an ideal that’s dimly perceived. It’s very difficult to reach, and perhaps unobtainable. His admonition is to strive to enter in at the straight gate. Love is not alone, as we know, an emotional attraction toward someone, but in the legal sense Christ said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself.” To accomplish this, we must dedicate ourselves and our will to God. Bro. Sargent in his book, “The Teaching of the Master” talks about the parable of the men who built on rock/sand (Matt. 7:24-27). They understood this and we should too. One man with foresight and one man without foresight and very foolish. Remembering Christ is the rock, the foundation, we are given the freedom to choose the foundation we would build upon. It takes a sustained effort on man’s part, however, to build on that foundation, and as we build, so will the results be. It brings the question then, Is our service rightly actuated? Does it come from love for God and Christ? and above all for each other? Is it that fervent, all pervading, all forgiving love required of us? Do we do all we can? Do we serve one another? Do we speak words of comfort and cheer to one another? Do we help ourselves or do we leave it to God to take care of these things. We cannot all serve as Paul did. We remember his words when he was warned of the things that would happen to him if he went into Jerusalem, “What mean ye to weep and break my heart, for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we must watch and be ready, we must grow and be faithful, we must be gentle and strong and particularly with the brotherhood we must be wise but not hypocritical, we must do what we can in a quiet efficient discharge of our daily tasks both in our work and in our ecclesial affairs. We must use the gifts we have. We must desire to serve, and we should if we can in these last days try to be as Christ’s disciples were, in the first days.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One