Jesus' example is one we ought to follow. Not by needlessly seeking martyrdom but by giving ourselves for others. We cannot simply sit and bask in a 'love' for others that never touches them, and never helps them. It is not love to give people what they do not need and withold from them what they do need. Jesus' own words give us significant instruction here:

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' Then he will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46 RSV)

If we as Christians have one fault above all others, it is of ignoring the material needs of others. Too many of us - and I confess my own fault on this - are willing to give salvation and then ignore people. We'll preach the gospel and then go off to our comfortable lives, leaving people to die. It makes me think of horror B movies - we're only after your soul! Yet concentrating on the soul and ignoring the body is an unnecessarily dualistic viewpoint. Man may not be able to live on bread alone but that does not mean he can live without bread.

Jesus was very plain that we should help others materially as well as spiritually. Like the good Samaritan, our love for our neighbour must be expressed not just in preaching the gospel but in feeding, healing and sheltering him - concrete examples of our love. The church has a good record of social action, of missions working for the rights of others, for an end to poverty, for justice and equality - we must not neglect this part of mission in favour of doing a bit of preaching, handing out some Bibles and then leaving. Loving our neighbour means we will change the world from the bottom up - by concentrating on issues of poverty and oppression, by visiting those in prison, feeding the hungry and helping the needy and showing the love of Christ within us rather than just talking about it.

Let us not make excuses - the scriptures are clear: our love for God must be reflected in our love for other people - all other people. That love makes us help others materially rather than just converting them and then ignoring them or ignoring those who will not accept Christ. The next time you see a beggar, or a prisoner, reflect - it is Jesus you ought to see instead of them, and it is Jesus you serve by serving them.

-HolyFool