God never intended for us to be alone in the various challenges we will face in life. On the contrary, in His Word, God tells us that we are to forbear (bear up, hold up, endure, bear with, or sustain) one another. In Ephesians 5:2, He tells us that we are to “…walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us….” We are to love one another! And part of living God’s love involves our being willing to forbear one another, reaching out to help those in need as Jesus Christ did. This may sound like a big commitment, but God has given us what we need to do it! We can make a vital impact in the lives of others as we reach out to help with the love of God. And God shows us how. In His Word, He gives us clear instruction on how we can reach out to help others through the example of His Son, Jesus Christ, and through keys we can use to walk in love.
Let’s look at the example of Jesus Christ to see how he reached out to help others in need. Jesus Christ both taught and lived God’s love.
Mark 12:29-31:
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Jesus Christ taught the true standard of love. He taught first to love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and then to love your neighbor as yourself. And he didn’t just teach these principles; he lived them! Just to list a few examples of how Jesus Christ got involved in the lives of others, we see him in the Word having compassion on the multitudes, feeding them and healing many (Matthew 14 and 15); we see him love and help others by preaching the gospel to the poor (the humble), healing the brokenhearted, preaching deliverance to the captives, recovering sight to the blind, and setting at liberty them that were bruised; he reached out to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke; he dealt bread to the hungry and ministered to the humble that were cast out (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 58:6,7). Jesus Christ gave his very life in service to others. And through his service, he was the example of how to reach out with God’s love. And his life had an impact. He is the savior of the whole world! As we follow Christ’s example, we can be willing to get involved in the lives of others and have a powerful impact on them, bringing needed healing and deliverance to their lives.
God didn’t leave us without the tools we need to reach out to others. He equips us to be able to help. Here are a few Biblical keys we can operate to reach out to others with God’s love, utilizing the resources God gives us:
- One key is to prepare our hearts with God’s Word so we can reach out with His love. We keep our hearts immersed in the Word because it enables us to know God, and knowing Him helps us recognize how to show His love. As we prepare our hearts with the Word, we also refuse to fear. Fear of failure and fear of getting entangled in others’ problems can keep us from getting involved. But as we know God’s perfect love and walk in it, we can navigate through difficulties and overcome fear (I John 4:18).
- Another key to reaching out to others is to utilize prayer. We can pray for those we minister to, and for ourselves that we have the strength and wisdom we need as we help. We can know that our prayers accomplish much as we get God involved (James 5:16).
- One more key to reaching out to others is to provide them with instruction in right believing and to teach them how to carry out their godly responsibilities. Those who aren’t as strong in their spiritual understanding or their believing may need someone to assist them, train them, support them, or encourage them as they grow and learn. We can speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and help provide people with vital answers they need to avoid pitfalls and believe on their own for God to be their strength and sufficiency. This may involve considerable coaching, which requires forbearance and long-suffering. Thankfully, we have a spiritual family of believers to help us as we reach out!
It is God’s desire that we forbear one another and help one another as we grow together and learn how to overcome challenges, living life the way God intended. With God’s help, we have everything we need in order to do this. Strengthened with God’s Word and His love, and having the example of Jesus Christ to look to, we can fearlessly reach out to others and help those who need it. God hasn’t left us alone, and He wants us to be there for one another through life’s various ups and downs, supporting and sustaining one another. So let’s reach out with God’s love and make a vital and needed impact in the lives of others.