If you’ve been in ministry long enough, chances are you’ve had seasons when people became more exhausting than inspiring. Where the endless opinions, conflicts, and problems begin to blur your vision. Where you start reacting to issues instead of remembering the person behind them.
In those seasons, it’s easy to forget why we started this work to begin with: love. Not love in theory, but love in practice. Love that sees people – complicated, hurting, beautiful people. The kind of love Jesus modeled again and again.
Matthew 10 shares a hard word. Jesus says, “If you love your father or mother more than me, you are not worthy of me.” On the surface, it sounds like Jesus is demanding loyalty at the cost of our most cherished relationships. But Jesus isn’t being cruel. He’s reminding us that following him will sometimes put us at odds with people we deeply love, especially when the way of Jesus confronts the comfortable narratives we’ve inherited.
Following Jesus will sometimes put us at odds with people we deeply love.
Jesus says this path may feel like a sword that divides. Not because he desires conflict, but because love lived fully will often disrupt the status quo.
I once took a group of students to serve in Salt Lake City where we fed people experiencing homelessness, supported refugees, and simply showed up. While in Salt Lake City, we stayed in a local church, where a well-meaning pastor shared his skepticism about helping “those people” – those who, in his words, choose addiction or homelessness.
I don’t mean to throw him under the bus. The truth is, I’ve wrestled with those same questions. You probably have, too. At every intersection where someone holds a cardboard sign, we debate: Am I helping? Hurting? Feeding an issue or a person? Sometimes I give. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes all I can offer is a wave that says, I see you.
But here’s what I learned on that trip: We weren’t there to feed issues. We were there to feed people. And that changes everything.
Jesus says this path may feel like a sword that divides. Not because he desires conflict, but because love lived fully will often disrupt the status quo.
Ministry gets distorted when we reduce people to issues. Whether it’s homelessness, addiction, poverty, sexuality, politics, or mental health, our call is not to solve or correct or fix. It’s to love. It’s to listen. It’s to see Christ in the other. And that’s hard, because issues are easier than people. They’re cleaner. Less emotional. Less messy.
But the Gospel isn’t interested in simplicity. There are only two instances where Jesus talks about the afterlife. In both, it’s not doctrine or ideology that determines our fate. It’s love. “I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Not, “You evaluated whether I was deserving,” but simply, “You fed me. You clothed me. You loved me.”
As pastors, we’re not exempt from the temptation to reduce people to their problems. In fact, it might be the very thing that slowly steals our joy and passion for ministry.
But the antidote is the same as the call: return to love.
Love the person in front of you, even when it’s hard. Love the church member who drives you crazy. Love the young adult who doubts. Love the family that’s falling apart. And yes, love the person at the intersection, even when you don’t know what to do.
Because when you love the person – not the issue – you’re loving Jesus. “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.”
And if the Christ dwells in your congregation…
If the Christ dwells in your spouse…
If the Christ dwells in your child…
Then loving them is loving Jesus.
So this week, when you feel jaded or burnt out or tempted to retreat, remember this:
That person you’re avoiding? Christ dwells in them too.
That group you’re tired of dealing with? Christ lives there too.
That complicated story you don’t have time to hear? Christ is speaking through it.
May Christ continue to dwell in you, speak through you, and be loved by you as you minister to God’s children. And remember, they are loved. And so are you.
(This blog was curated from the episode “When We See Issues Instead of People, We Need to Change” from Pastor Jay’s podcast, The Good Courage Podcast. For more, visit this podcast episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0UM4wWrocY6mZ5zytebpEJ?si=4da1fc597e694703)
