The Caring Church

By Robin G. Jordan

The church must be seen to care. So often it appears as a private hobby. Like a gardening club the church seems to be a society bent on its own preservation, but without paying much attention to others. Yet if it is to cut any ice, it must be seen to care about the quality of life in the area and the problems folks wrestle with…. Whatever the problems that affect the life of the community, the church needs to be seen to care for the good of those who are not its members: Jesus did.

I came across this passage in Michael Green’s book Freed to Serve in Chapter 10, “Building for Service.” It prompted me to ask myself, “Do the people in my area know that my church cares for the good of the folks outside its fellowship? How do they know?” It also prompted me to ask the same questions about the other churches in the area.

On the one hand Jesus tells us that we should not do our charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. “When you do a charitable deed,” he says, “do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men” (Matthew 6:2). When we do a charitable deed, we should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. On the other hand, he tells us that we should let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Is Jesus contradicting himself?

In Matthew 6 Jesus is referring to the practice of the Pharisees and the scribes who made an ostentatious display of performing their religious duties including giving alms to the poor. Their motivation was not to honor God or to help the less fortunate but to gain public recognition for their piety and to receive the applause of men. This is the reward to which Jesus refers in Matthew 6. Their motivation for their charitable deeds was wrong. Hence Jesus warns his disciples against following their example.

In Matthew 5 Jesus is making the point that his disciples are called to bring glory and honor to God. They are to be a light to the world, a city set upon a hill. A city on a hill is in full view of those dwelling in the countryside surrounding it or approaching it from a distance. In the ancient world a city on a hill meant a place of safety in times of war for those living in the surrounding countryside. It was a market place for their livestock and their produce in times of peace. It was a place where the local ruler held court, settled disputes, and administered justice. It meant water, food, and shelter for the night for a weary traveler.

I own three facsimile pottery lamps from Roman Palestine. Each fits in the palm of my hand. This is the normal size of such lamps. The olive oil they burned was expensive. To light a typical one-room house of the period would require putting one of these small lamps on a stand in the middle of the room. Lighting it and putting it under a basket would not provide light to the room. It would not serve any useful purpose. But on a stand its small flickering flame would brighten the darkness and drive away the fear of the night.

Having been lit like one of those tiny lamps to give light in the world, we cannot put ourselves under a basket and concealing our light from the world. We must let our light shine so that others see God working in us and through us and give glory to God for what he is doing. While we should not advertise our good deeds so men will glorify us, we cannot hide what God is doing in us and through us so that God is not given the glory that he rightly deserves.

God is not glorified if our caring extends only to those within our particular church fellowship. Those who do not know Christ care for their own. Our caring must reach beyond ourselves, beyond our families and friends. We must seek to serve Christ in all people, those who are strangers to our community as well as those who live and work in the area.

If a tiny flame can dispel the darkness in a one-room Palestinian house, imagine what an entire congregation of lights can do in our dark world. Imagine what good deeds it can accomplish and what glory and honor it can bring to God.