By Larry Torres

In Hosea 4:6, God said that his people perish or are destroyed due to a lack of knowledge. Where Israel fell short in the book of Hosea was their failure to follow God’s law because they rejected it or forgot it altogether. The simple truths and teachings are usually the most easily forgotten and lost. We often stray from the basics. Sometimes we think we have advanced beyond the basics and fundamentals but everything we do is based on their foundation. The simple truth and foundation we need to be reminded of and follow as the Church, no matter what time we live in or how difficult the circumstances, is to love God and love people (see Mt. 22:37-40), specifically the latter. 

We need reminding of this basic command to love people because our churches can be too focused on attracting new people and following the trends of our culture. We become concerned with programs and aesthetics instead of focusing on loving one another and being that light that will attract others naturally. What drew people to the church in the early days of Christianity was their love for people, especially the widows and orphans in their time. It was revolutionary. That is the responsibility of the Church as Christ’s people here on earth: to love people. It is as simple as that. There is no profound formula or strategy. Loving people because God first loved us is what we are called and commanded to do. 

How Do We Love?

 Anyone can easily say, “just love people”, but how do we love people? First we must meet people’s basic needs. Jesus understood this when he fed the 5,000 as he told his disciples that they should give them something to eat (see Mk. 6:37). Are there hungry people in our churches and communities? If so, we should feed them as Jesus said. Second, we love people by embracing and welcoming them no matter who they are and what they have done in their past that may cause others to reject them. This is what Jesus did. He was criticized for hanging out with tax collectors and sinners, especially Zacchaeus, but Jesus’ willingness to stay in his home showed his love for him and ultimately led to his repentance and salvation (Lk. 19:9). Jesus is the ultimate example of love and how to love others. The world is broken and desperate for the saving love of Christ, and we the Church are obligated to share that love. 

We are living in difficult times that are constantly changing. Many churches are struggling. When we struggle it is in the fundamentals and basics that we have forgotten or neglected that get us back on track and help us. Loving people is a simple command, but it can be difficult; but we have Jesus’ example and the Holy Spirit at work in us enabling and encouraging us to love one another and others. May we continue to remind ourselves of this basic knowledge and push our church communities to live it out and love people.

Larry Torres is the Minister of Christian Education at Somerville Community Baptist Church in Somerville, MA. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA), and his interests include preaching, missions, theology and culture, baseball, boxing, and playing basketball in his free time.