One of the things we have accepted today in our world is that we live in a pluralistic society. This is more noticeable in the larger cities where you see a multiple of people everywhere with different cultural backgrounds, different religious beliefs and who keep their own traditions. In a pluralistic society there is racism by the mainstream society towards a minority or marginalized people. Native people in the past, and even today, have been marginalized along with immigrants and refugees. As a Christian I believe that the best way we can overcome racism is through the love of God. We are to love one another because we are created in the image of God. People are created in the image of God.
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:28, NLT).
One of the attributes of God is love. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. God is love and it should be natural for Christians to love everyone: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:7, 8, ESV).
When you have been born of God, one of the things that will happen is that you will seek to love all human beings as God loves them. None of us has the strength and ability to love with God's love, but Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will empower us. Anyone who has been born of God will learn to accept and treat all human beings from a biblical perspective.
Christians need to love one another, which means that we are to especially love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should also love all people. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, ESV).
Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for another. Christ demonstrated God's love when he died for our sins on the cross. Years ago, I read a story about two brothers. The older one was good and the younger one was wild and evil. The younger brother committed murder and the authorities were looking for him. The older brother knew that his younger brother had committed the crime and because of his great love for him, he wanted to help him escape from the authorities. In the house, the older brother found his younger brother's blood-stained clothes and he put them on. When the authorities came, he surrendered and confessed that he did the murder. He was not guilty of the murder but he took his brother's place. He was tried and executed. Later the younger brother was under conviction and confessed his crime, but they let him go free. The crime had been paid in full by his older brother.
Jesus paid a debt he did not owe.1 John 4:9–11 (ESV) says, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
The word "propitiation" means that when Jesus died on the cross, he paid for our sins with his blood and made it possible for all of Mankind to be saved by faith.
Through God's love, you will get along with people. You will practice grace living, be more understanding, exercise patience, and show compassion, mercy and forgiveness. All these spiritual principles are essential when you work and socialize with people. When I apply these spiritual principles in my life, I find that I get along much better with people, especially my family. I know I can get along with them better and that all depends on my relationship with God.
We need to obey and apply the Word of God in our lives to help us love one another. God's command is for us to love one another. "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:19–21, ESV).
Jesus gave us a new commandment. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are to love one another" (John 13:34, ESV). The love of God is not just about talking but you also have to do something. You have to show your faith by helping people who have a need. The book of James tells us that faith without works is dead.
A couple of years ago a Native man and his wife who live in Ottawa called us because they were short on money. This man is a lawyer, and his work was slow for a few months. He wasn't getting any contracts as he expected, so as a result they were low financially. My wife and I figured they needed to buy groceries so we gave them two hundred dollars to tide them over. This was a couple of weeks before Christmas. Then a week before Christmas they called again and they still didn't have any money. They had grandchildren and they had no money to buy Christmas presents for them. Even though we didn't have too much ourselves, we ended up giving them five hundred dollars. We gave them extra money so they could buy presents for their grandchildren and have a good Christmas meal with their family. The woman is a good cook so she must have prepared a good Christmas meal with all the trimmings.
They thanked us a lot for helping them. They were happy to tell us that the grand-kiddies had presents under the Christmas tree. You know by doing this I felt more blessed than them. I was happy to do that because Christmas is a time for giving. My wife and I were glad to share with them and make their Christmas good and happy. I should mention that if I lend money to people, I never ask them to repay me. I learned that lesson from my older brother. He loaned me some money, and when I tried to pay him back, he told me, "When I lend money to people I don't expect to be paid back." Luke 6:35 says, "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
We need to love, respect and honour people. As I get older in my Christian life, I seek to obey and apply God's command to love one another. When people do something wrong to you, you still have to love them and forgive them. Chuck Swindoll calls this grace living. The Bible says in Matthew 5:39–40 (ESV), "But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well."
Whenever I go downtown in Ottawa, I see a lot of people from different countries and different ethnic backgrounds. Many of these people are immigrants and refugees. I always tell my son that we need to respect and love all people because God loves them. I am glad he understands that. Every human being is created in the image of God and we need to show God's unconditional love to them. God loves everybody and he is willing that none should perish but all to come to repentance. The love of God prompts me to share the gospel with others regardless of their skin colour and ethnic background.
Joseph Jolly, a Cree Indian from Ontario, is General Director of Native Gospel Ministries of Canada. He has his M.A. and M.Div. degrees from Briercrest Bible Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from Providence Theological Seminary. He is also the author of Going and Growing Through Grief. For more information see https://nativegospelministries.org/
