Loving Your Community By Stephen ViarsEsimerkki

Day 2 I Am Willing A leper once came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’” There were all sorts of reasons why the Lord could have denied this request. Perhaps He was tired after a period of teaching. The leper’s condition may have been contagious and dangerous. But “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’” (Matthew 8:2–3). The Savior of the world said yes to a man in need. We all struggle to know how to relate to the men and women around us. How should Christians interact with the unmarried couple who just moved in next door? What about a lesbian colleague who confides that her wife has just been diagnosed with colon cancer? What does Christianity look like then? How does it sound? How does it feel? How should followers of Christ think about such issues as drug abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, crime, poverty, ethnic tension, and a seemingly endless array of community challenges? More importantly, how should we think about the people who are suffering as a result? There are no easy answers. On the one hand, Christians sincerely want to make a difference. We are on a mission given to us by our Lord, Himself. We are told to relate to others in ways that glorify (give the right opinion of) God. This is an incredible privilege and sacred trust. Also, Scripture refers to us as “ambassadors” of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) and directs us to be “lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Powerful metaphors like this call us to engage in ways that are thoughtful and proactive. On the other hand, God calls His people to be holy and separate. Scripture is filled with warnings about how our relationships will affect our own souls and eternal destiny. We are told in both the Old and New Testaments to “come out from among them and be separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17; Isaiah 52:11). Holiness, by definition, means to be set apart. Discerning the Christian’s proper relationship to the world in which we live isn’t easy, but we’ve got to get it right. How do you decide how to respond to difficult situations or requests such as the ones mentioned here?