Acts 11: 19-30 "Love" is one of those sadly misunderstood words in the human language today. What do people usually mean when they say they "love" something or someone? I consulted the American Heritage Dictionary of the Enlish Language. The definitions are ranked by how frequently they are used in our language today. What are the top two definitions? The first is, "an intense affectionate concern for another person." Like that one? Next week I’ll have to write that down on my wife’s mother’s day card. "Dear, I have an intense affectionate concern for you." The second definition is not much better. "An intense sexual desire for another person." Do you get the idea that it must have been a panel of men who edited this edition of the dictionary? Whoever turned love into "an intense sexual desire?" Somehow, you look at these definitions of love and you can’t help but thinking that "love" in most people’s minds means "what’s in it for me?"
I guess I still like the definition in Jesus’ dictionary (the Bible) the best. "Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." The Bible further describes love as more than just a feeling - or worse, "an intense desire" for something. Love is an activity. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is unselfish. Love gives. Love does. Love does not ask, "What’s in it for me?"
But where does Christian love excel the most? Where does it really set itself apart from the kind of love you might find in the American Heritage Dictionary? I believe that Christian love finds its highest expression in our ability to love total strangers. Isn’t that why mission work remains a high priority in our lives, even though we reap very few tangible benefits from it? After all, what benefit do we get from reaching someone in China with the gospel? What’s in it for me? Absolutely nothing. And that’s the whole point. When we love a total stranger, there’s nothing in it for me. The only reason we have for that kind of love is the one Jesus gives his disciples. We love because he loved us. Our story from the book of Acts shows this dimension of Christian love in action. Christian love is...
REACHING OUT TO TOTAL STRANGERS
I. WITH THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL
The first paragraph shows us how the gospel began to spread beyond Jerusalem and the Jewish people. "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenecia, Cypus, and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." First of all, please note how the Lord actually used the persecutions in Jerusalem to spread the gospel! The devil thought he won a great victory when he scattered the Christians in Jerusalem. But instead of having one hotbed of Christianity in Jerusalem, the persecution only scattered the sparks and started brush fires all over the Mediterranean world.
At first, the gospel spread the way it usually does - along social lines. Friends tell friends. Think of the story of the calling of Matthew, who was a tax collector. When Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple, he immediately went out and had a big dinner party for all his tax-collector friends so they could meet Jesus, too. Friends will tell friends about the Savior. And that makes sense. If you know how to get to heaven and your friend doesn’t, how can you NOT tell them about Jesus? How can you not want them to spend eternity in heaven with you? So Jews told other Jews that the Messiah had come.
But in Antioch, something else happened. Jews not only told Jews about Jesus. Jews began to tell the Greeks about Jesus, too. They began to reach out to total stangers with the message of the gospel. What motivated them to do so? What motivates a proud new father to hand out cigars to everyone in the barbershop? We tell the good news to total strangers simply because there is good news to tell. Why NOT tell strangers?
And that’s the way it should be. The gospel of Jesus Christ has no limits or boundaries. It’s not the story of a Jewish Savior dying for the Jewish people. Jesus was the Savior of the world. He died for everyone in the world. His command to his disciples was to preach the gospel to every creature. There is no “language, tribe, nation, or people” for whom the Gospel was not intended.
But is it always that way with us? In my work with the congregations of our district, I see it happening again and again where congregations slash their mission offerings, and sometimes almost eliminate them, just to balance their local budget. Time and again you hear people saying, "Let’s take care of our own needs first." But then who will reach the total strangers of the world who are dying without knowing that Jesus died for them?
And what of the "strangers" in our own backyard? It’s estimated that fully 30% of our community is unchurched. Friends, this is a vast mission field right beneath our noses. Why have we not reached them yet? Could it be that we are afraid to talk to strangers? When was the last time our church canvassed our community and went door to door with the gospel? Will we argue that we just don’t have time? And if you don’t, who will? Who will reach these strangers with the gospel before the devil claims them for eternity?
We have such a wonderful message to share with our world! Jesus died for all of us! For white and black and yellow and red. For rich and for poor. He died to set us free from our sins. He rose to give us the hope of everlasting life. He promised to be our friend how and forever. How can we not tell people about Jesus - even if they are total strangers?
Sharing the message of the gospel with our world is one way we can show our love for total strangers. Another way is to reach out to them...
II. WITH MANPOWER
Our text says, "News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sant Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." Later, Barnabas got Saul (whom we know as the apostle Paul) to join him and together they spent a whole year in Antioch. Under their guidance, the church in Antioch became one of the main centers of Christianity. Before long, they began to send out missionaries of their own.
Did the church in Jerusalem have so many men to spare that they could afford to send one of their best to Antioch? I have yet to see a church body that had an overabundance of good people to spare. No doubt, when Barnabas left Jerusalem, someone else had to pick up his work load. Some congregation had to find a new pastor. But we see that unselfish style of Christian love being practiced by the church in Jerusalem. The converts in Antioch needed a couple of well-trained men to get this mission church on its feet. They sent them two of their best.
Are we willing to send our best men to total strangers? In our church body, requests keep coming from every corner of the world to send missionaries to help them preach the gospel. How would you like to the be the coordinator of our world mission program and have to say “no” to one request after another? What reasons would you give for not sending someone? We can’t afford it? We don’t have anyone who’s willing? Let’s face it. Those aren’t reasons, those are excuses. But the man who has to answer those requests and give the reasons does so because the person in the pew forgets how important the mission of the church is.
And would you be willing to go? There are members in our church this year – young people who graduated from college and people who have retired from the life’s work – who have gone to China to teach English – and to give a quiet and powerful testimony about their Savior whenever they can. Would you be willing to give a year out of your life? Or maybe a lifetime?
Maybe it’s hard to think about going somewhere where you will be among total strangers to spend your life’s work. My first call was among total strangers. So was my second call. But are we ever among total strangers when we are one in Christ? I doubt if Paul or Barnabas felt like strangers in Antioch. They gathered with the church and the church became their family. So it is with everyone who goes in Jesus name. They never go alone. And they are never with total strangers!
Last, but not least, one way we can reach out to strangers is through the materials we send them.
III. WITH MATERIALS
We read, "The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul." Just think for a moment what these Christians were doing - and perhaps it’s significant that they should be the first to bear this name. Because they were Christians - they were people like Christ. They were meeting the needs of total strangers in Jerusalem even before there was a need! Prudence would have told them not even to dream of sending money to strangers if there was an economic depression on the way. After all, wouldn’t they need these relief funds for some of their own members? But that’s what Christian, or Christ-like, love is all about. It’s meeting the needs of others - even strangers - at the price of personal sacrifice.
Friends, I was touched by the story a missionary-nurse who came back from Africa. She told about the church that had no roof. Remember what it looked like? Crooked boards for pews. A mud altar. A thatched roof which let the rain in during the rainy season. But the people in that church! When the missionary was four hours late in coming and everyone had gone home, the word got out for everyone to come back to hear the missionary. Would we have such patience? Such love for the word? How happy they were when they finally were able to start construction on a church with a real roof! How many others in the world aren’t like that?
I think of my friend, who started the congregation in Plymouth, MN, back in 1979 when we both got out of the seminary. His first worship facility was the room in a Legion Hall. When he showed it to us, I remember smelling stale beer and stale cigarette smoke - and wondered how his congregation liked worshipping there on Sunday! He used to print his bulletins on an old mimeo on which he had to paint the ink and run 20 copies at a time! How many churches haven’t begun like that – on a shoe string budget, making do with little or nothing. They began and they prospered, because God’s Word is powerful and the Holy Spirit works through it.
But what can we do to help our fellow Christians in their time of need? Can we ignore these needs of strangers, who aren’t so strange at all, but are our brothers and sisters in Christ? We cannot ignore them, because Jesus did not ignore us. We cannot turn our backs on them, because Jesus did not turn his back on us. When we were in need of being saved, Jesus reached out - with his very life - and redeemed us to be his own. How can we turn our backs on others? We can’t. Christ’s love compels us to love even a total stranger.
Christian love transcends the dictionary definition. Love is more than "an intense personal concern" for someone. Love is what we do - all the time. And in our lives, it finds its highest expression when we are willing to love even those who are total strangers. Amen.
