My friend Ashley has two beautiful young girls. During the Covid-19 crisis, they wanted to do something meaningful for their neighbors. So they went outside and, with colored chalk, created striking road art that said, “Love Your Neighbor” and included a large heart that looked just like stained glass.
Then a neighbor called the police on them because they were “playing in the street”!
Sigh. It’s hard to love in a crisis isn’t it?
This is one of the things Jesus does so well. Even at his cross, even as he attends to his relationship with himself (self care), his relationship with God (soul care), he also reaches out to others (social care). And he calls us to do the same.
In her book Suffering and the Heart of God, Diane Langberg writes about six steps Jesus took to minister to us in our misery, and thus six steps we can take to serve people in their suffering (112-119).
1 – Jesus Left Glory – Jesus left his world with its comfort and familiarity to enter our world. “You must leave glory if you are to help those in crisis. You too must leave that which is familiar, ordered, predictable, and comfortable for you in order to help those in crisis.” Too often we expect to be able to enter into others’ suffering and still live our “normal.”
2 – Jesus Became Little – Though creator and sustainer of the cosmos, Jesus “reduced himself in size, power, impact, words and potential to help (Philippians 2:6-7).” This has tremendous implications for us. “When you enter a life in crisis, you must become little. You will not help if you swoop in, tell people what to do, and take over … Enter in, listen, live with, observe, and learn. Be little; it is about them, not you.”
3 – Jesus Entered Darkness – Jesus not only left glory, he entered darkness. He came and lived in a different world. “Typically, when we enter into another’s suffering we try to drag them into our world. We want them to think what we think, choose what we would choose, understand what we see, and live more like we do … Those are not necessarily bad goals, but you can only get people there by entering into their darkness … You must go in to them and sit with them and listen and understand, and then little by little you can begin to walk with them toward a new and different place.”
4 – Jesus did not Get Lost in the Darkness – Jesus “came into the darkness and sat down bearing the character of the Father … Who he was explained the Father to us.” Jesus lived out light in the midst of our darkness. “Often we think we need techniques, programs, plans, or the right words–and those can be helpful things. However, people do not just need knowledge about the character of God but the actual demonstration of it in the flesh, in you. They will know his truth, his love, his mercy, and his grace as we sit with them and live with them.”
5 – Jesus did not Abandon Us – He did not run–even when being with us led him to a cross. “You will want to abandon. There will be one phone call too many, one mistake too many, one bad choice too many. You will get weary and it will feel heavy. You will want a life free of crisis and alarms. But the love of the Father does not abandon his own … We find it difficult to maintain connection with crises, especially chronic ones, so we abandon those who have no choice about suffering in their lives.”
6 – Jesus did not Catch Our Disease – Jesus did not get so caught up in our crisis that he lost perspective. He did not allow the darkness to destroy him. “Staying power means having the ability to endure. To endure is to hold out against; sustain without impairment; to bear with patience.” To be with others in crisis, we must avoid becoming cynical, bitter or despairing. This takes three realizations:
6.1 – “You are doing God’s work with him. “You are not the Redeemer, merely his servant … If it is his work, the results are in his hands, and you will not need to demand certain outcomes by a certain time, thereby pressuring hurting people to get better so that you feel successful.”
6.2 – “[It] is [God’s] work done for him. You are not working for the ones suffering. You are not working for anyone else looking for their approval or certain status in the church or your community. You are his worker.”
6.3 – “You can only do this work by God and through him. You cannot do the work of God in suffering lives, nor will you please God with your work, unless he himself works redemptively in and through you.”
As you look outward during this Covid-19 crisis, meditate on Jesus’ example. Reflect on these words. And follow God as he invites you to serve others in the way of Jesus.
