Today is Palm Sunday. It is the day that Christians celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of the week that he was crucified, buried and rose again. The people who lined the road to Jerusalem when Jesus took that path thought that they were welcoming their new king, the one who had some to get them out from under Roman oppression and give them victory over their oppressors. They were celebrating a King that day, and so do we thousands of years later. But King Jesus came to save us from our sins and give us victory over the oppression of living for ourselves. That was and is the greatest need of humanity.
This morning as I was getting ready for church, I was praying for people who had experienced hardship from the storms that came through the Nashville area. I knew that many were having to deal with flooding or damage from high winds and also the emotional trauma that those experiences take on people, even years later. My mind and prayers also went to other friends who are going through very rough situations, some with no end in sight. All of these people in my prayers are in need.
My thoughts went to my own needs. I am in need of motivation and focus to finish up some grad school assignments. I will need strength to manage a busy week of work (Easter Week at a church is one of the busiest of the year). I quickly dismissed my own need as I prayed, asking once again for God to help others who are in “more need” than I am.
Almost as quickly, the Holy Spirit reminded me that we are all in need and that our greatest need is to be saved from our sins and an eternity of separation from God. While it is good for me to pray for others and to put their needs above my own, I don’t ever want to forget that I am in need of Jesus every day, every minute. He saved me from my sins when I trusted in him as a young girl and that gave me the privilege of approaching the throne of grace with confidence that he hears my prayers and goes before the Father on my behalf with my needs.
Today’s sermon from Romans 13:8-10 was about loving our neighbor as the fulfillment of the Law. Paul was echoing the teaching of Jesus where he summed up the ten commandments saying that to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). In the sermon, Josh Hussung said that loving our neighbor as ourselves is to see others’ needs as our needs and to have a gut reaction to help. He also said that loving our neighbor is a desire or longing for their good as God prescribes it. The only way we can love our neighbor that way is for God to help us to see others as he sees them: in need of a Savior. Josh challenged us to think of ways that we draw the line of who can get our love and to repent of that sinful way of thinking.
I’m really no different than the people who were in the crowd cheering for Jesus when he rode into Jerusalem on a colt. I want him to be my king on my terms and to meet my needs as I think they should be met. I don’t always think about the needs of others, physical or spiritual. And I definitely put limits and parameters around the ways I am willing to love others.
This week as I prepare to remember the events of Jesus’ last week before the cross, I want to be mindful of how I love my neighbor. Do I love and care for others’ deepest need of salvation? Do I share the good news of Jesus’ death on the cross, burial, and rising again on the third day? Who might I share that with this week? How might I truly love my neighbor in the way that God intended?
Lord, give me your love for others and help me to share that love with those who you put in my life.
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