After the Barbeque

People. Oh, the complexities that come with people. There are so many personalities, so many backgrounds, so many ways we sin against one another. Challenges and perils aside, God calls us to love people and pour out our lives for them.

So let’s say you want to do better at loving people. You know this is the second greatest commandment, so it isn’t effort that will be wasted. Additionally, there are lots of people at church you barely know. Their faces have become familiar, but in actuality you don’t know them any better than the local gas station attendant. So you do it. You pick a family. On Sunday you see them in the foyer. You walk towards them with a smile and a plan for a little small talk. Finally, you ask them if they would like to come for lunch next Sunday. They accept. That week, you buy some hamburger meat. You make sure the propane tank for the grill is filled. The house gets cleaned and those piles of random things finally get dispersed.

Sunday arrives and you are gathered around the table. And what do you know, it actually goes well. You chit-chat, you share stories, you learn about some of their history. You even share some about what God has done in your lives. It is a blessed time.

But then they go home. What now? That is the question. Is church just the place where everyone knows your name? That sounds like a bar, but with a religious twist. Do you just keep having barbeques, or is there a greater purpose for these relationships? Are there goals that ought to be pursued?

I think the “one anothers” of scripture offer some guidance here.

1. Continue having barbeques and other such meetings. Loving people requires knowing them. Several of the scriptural “one anothers” can only be accomplished if you know people well. When this happens in a reciprocal way, there is blessing all around.

a. You are to build up one another (Rom. 14:19; 1 Thess. 5:11) and you will do that best when you know where they are lacking.

b. You are to encourage one another (Heb. 3:10; 1 Thess. 5:11) and you will do that best when you know where they are discouraged.

c. You are to pray for one another (Jam. 5:16) and you will do that best when you know what is happening in their lives.

d. You are to be hospitable to one another (1 Pet. 4:9) and that means opening your home to them.

2. Look for ways to serve someone (Gal. 5:13; John 13:14; 1 Thess. 5:15). Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. We are called to do the same. Are there needs you can meet? Are there ways you can help them? This might become a discipleship relationship, or there simply might be practical needs you can meet.

3. Bear their burden with them (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 12:25; Eph. 4:32). Sometimes the help needed is more than just physical needs. Sometimes they need wisdom. Sometimes their heart is broken. Sometimes fear is tightening its grip on their heart. You need to be there for them and help carry them through.

4. Serve with this person (1 Cor. 12:7). Each person is gifted differently. They will bring unique abilities to each task. Whatever ministry you are involved in, make sure you are not doing it alone, but are bringing in others to help advance the gospel.

Granted, not everyone will allow someone into their lives so the “one anothers” can be performed. But many people will open up when they sense a genuine love for them. Imagine with me that over a period of time you were able to do most of these with multiple people. What would be the outcome? The outcome would be their greater joy in Christ.

This is one of the grand purposes of relationships seen in scripture.

2 Corinthians 1:24 (NASB95) — 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.

Philippians 1:25 (NASB95) — 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

As you practice the “one anothers”, people will be encouraged by the gospel’s good news being affirmed and applied through you. They will see the gracious hand of their father providing needs through you. They will be born up in hardship because a servant of Christ walked with them. They will see their own Spirit-empowered part in the gospel’s spread as God’s children work together. All this is joy, joy, joy in Christ.

May we be a people who pursue Christ together like this.