“Our love should not be just words and talk, it must be true love, which shows itself in action.”
- 1 John 3:18
The Kingdom of God
Throughout his ministry, Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God is at hand. While he grants salvation to individuals who believe in him (1 John 1:9, Romans 10:9), he extends his gift of redemption beyond the individual to the whole of creation. While we still await the full completion of this redemption, we see a picture of this Kingdom community in Jesus' life and ministry.
Jesus extends his love to everyone, most notably those on the outskirts of society. Jesus shatters societal norms and embraces those outside the nation of Israel (Matthew 16:21-28), those afflicted with illnesses (Matthew 8:1-4, Matthew 9:20-22), sinners (Luke 6:27-32, John 8:2-11, Luke 7:36-50), women (Luke 8:1-3, Luke 10:38-42), and small children (Mark 10:13-16). In a world that offers little hope to those on the outskirts of society, Jesus' offer of redemption and inclusion into the Kingdom of God gives hope and new life to the marginalized.
Reaching Out to the Poor and Needy
While God desires to include rich and poor equally, more attention must be paid to society's neediest members so that they can truly be a part of the community. Throughout the Bible, God expects his people to be his instruments in caring for the poor. God instructs his people to defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8-9) and to be generous to them (Deuteronomy 15:7-8, Isaiah 58:6-7), and makes it clear that by doing so they honor God himself (Proverbs 14:31).
In ancient Israel, this concern was supposed to be lived out in several different ways. First, the Israelites were supposed to help the poor to provide for themselves by harvesting inefficiently, leaving some produce behind for the needy to gather (Deuteronomy 25:19-22). However, the Bible recognized that simply providing opportunity was not always enough to meet their needs and so the Israelites were also expected to set aside a portion of their tithe in order to directly care for the poor (Deuteronomy 26:12-13). When the opportunity to harvest leftover grain and the direct support of the tithe were not enough to provide for people's needs, then in order to survive they would have to sell their land (a terrible loss in an agricultural society) or even sell themselves into slavery. If unchecked, this cycle would repeat generation after generation with some families sinking ever deeper into poverty. God, however, expected his people to break that cycle. All outstanding debts were to be forgiven after seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1-2) and after seven of these seven-year cycles all property was to be returned to its original owners, preventing the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few (Leviticus 25:10). This restoration of property was known as the Jubilee year.
Tragically, the people of Israel failed to live up to God's plan and the prophets continually had to exhort God's people to honor their covenant with the Lord and act with justice to the poor. In the New Testament, Jesus draws upon that prophetic tradition when he launches his prophetic ministry by proclaiming a Jubilee year (Luke 4:16-21).
Our Call to Service
The Church is now expected to create a community which also respects and includes everyone, rich and poor. The Acts of the Apostles records how the early Church shared everything so that there were no poor among them (Acts 4:32-35). Unfortunately, the church repeated many of the same patterns of selfishness and prejudice that sparked the prophets' wrath. James needed to berate the Church for discriminating between rich and poor (James 2:1-9) and for expressing good wishes toward those in need without doing any of the necessary actions to make those well wishes a reality (James 2:15-17).
“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
- James 2:15-17
Although we continually need to repent of our failures, we as the Church are God's chosen instruments for creating a society where all people are included with equal dignity. This must include, when necessary, meeting people's physical needs so that they are able to be part of that community. Jesus makes it very clear that when we do so, we are actually serving him (Matthew 25:31-46). Although the task will at times seem overwhelming, we are privileged to participate in the world's redemption and we have confident hope in the One who has already overcome the world (John 16:33).