God Commands Compassion, Not Evangelism

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place.

Do not trust in these deceptive words: "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD."

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. (Jer. 7:3-7, NRSV)

The life of Jesus, through both his words and actions, shows that he totally believed what he had received from these scriptures, totally assimilated this call to justice and compassion. In Matthew 25 (in the closing teaching section of a gospel where Jesus repeatedly reminds people that action, not belief, defines someone as a disciple), Jesus tells a parable of judgment, and reinforces that those who feed the sick, care for those in need, visit those in prison (in other words, those who demonstrate compassion for all at the margins of society that we are so prone to step around and ignore) will be those he chooses as his own.

Christianity is not about praying in a certain way, or believing a certain thing, or making converts, or building a nice cabin at church camp.

Or, I argue, it shouldn't be.

Some American Christians talk about winning the world for Christ so that everyone can go to Heaven. But as N. T. Wright observes in Surprised by Hope, there is little or no talk about "going to Heaven" in the Bible. In fact, the overall narrative of the scriptures (not to mention the example of the life of Christ, and the compelling witness of individual Christians such as Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa) stands in stark opposition to this single objective of evangelism.

The larger message of the Christian tradition, as I wrote in The Other Jesus, was demonstrated by the outpouring of love and assistance following Katrina a few years ago:

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and all but destroyed New Orleans, the response from the U.S. government was, shall we say, lackluster. But the response from people of faith was monumental and ongoing. Christians from the mainline Protestant traditions that had always believed in the importance of such work were joined by Catholics, who have a long tradition of peace-and-justice work, and by members of evangelical congregations—all intent on serving those who suffered. Together they showed the world that Christian faith in action, modeling the compassion of Christ, can make a difference in the world.

Our call as followers is to try to walk in the world with the compassion of Christ, to demonstrate God's love with action, not words. And when we do this, it will have larger implications for how we treat others, particularly those who suffer, hunger, or are in need.