We have realised that to love your neighbour is not a matter of a few acts of kindness or being nice to those you bump into but rather to immerse ourselves in a place for the long term. It is putting down roots.
People will not believe that love is real if it is not faithful. To be faithful means loving over the long haul even when the other is weak, unfaithful, unloveable, and/or their flaws and weaknesses are revealed, sometimes to our own detriment. When we consider if someone loves us, it is not what they say that counts but their acts toward us over a period of time and especially those times when we are vulnerable, when we drop our image veil and let them see the real us. It is measured by what they do, not what they say and its endurance.
God demonstrated his love for us by the incarnation of Jesus. He entered a specific place and dwelled there for some 3 generations. He came as a humble, helpless babe and lived with his parents in the town of Nazareth and of course he would have been immersed in the messiness of it's residents. Love is only knowable when it is concrete and so it is with God's love. It is not known through gospel tracts, moving worship, eloquent preaching, facebook testimonies, powerpoint presentations, videos and movies. It is known through concrete acts of love.
Consider Psalm 111:2-8
2 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
How did the Psalmist know that God is gracious and merciful? By his works. Psalm 89 is about God's commitment to a "steadfast love" for David. God speaks of this "steadfast love" in terms of what He will do for David. Following is just one sample taken from the Psalm:
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
In order for others who don't know Jesus to know his love requires his people to be rooted in a place so they can demonstrate steadfast love through their works, through their immersion in the community of that place and in the lives of those who live there.
In his book "Subterranean: Why the Future of the Church is Rootedness" Dan White Jr. says this:
There is a kingdom equation of being rooted that when we die to our transience and live for the reign of Jesus in a place, a tree begins to sprout that is bigger than our solo life. The kingdom of God invites us to faithfully submerge into a place. In this work we do not lose our life, we gain it. . . . God is local. His passions and plans for people become concrete when they are localized. (chapter 8, loc 1954 of Kindle Book)
Having renewed our lease for two more years, God seems to be confirming this in our own lives. Our hope is to make Jesus known on our street. For that to happen our neighbours must know his love and we as followers of Jesus are the channel through which they will experience His love. But it will take time before people will be convinced that this love is a real. And so we are putting down roots in our place.
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