It’s funny I’ve had all these blog ideas rolling in my mind
but today they will have to wait because I got something in my heart that just needs to get out.
Let’s talk about Jesus and sinners. And let’s talk about
ourselves and sinners. Anything that Jesus did with sinners we should be doing
too. And the way sinners felt around Jesus is the way we should only hope and
pray they feel around us.
But first, let’s ALL remember that all of us who are no
longer “sinners” find ourselves with a new title of “saint” by the Grace of God
alone. That’s the only thing that separates us and them. A saint is no better
than a sinner and a sinner is NO worse than a saint in terms of our sin and
what we are capable of. The benefit to the saint is that we are under Jesus’
blood and our sin no longer counts or acts against us. The detriment of the
sinner is that they are bound to sin and to obey it. They have no hope of real
change and obedience out of faith in grace. The law has its hand around their
neck. These facts should burden the saints’ hearts…Not elevate ourselves in our
own eyes.
Have we been saints for so long that we have FORGOTTEN where
we came from and what it was like to be separated from God and unable to
receive His lavish grace???
I’ve got news for you and for myself.
We are no better than…
…the mothers
and fathers who gladly abort the unborn
…the
homeless brother
…the prostitute
sister
…the gambler
…the druggie
…the Muslim
…the
terrorists in ISIS
…Judas (the
disciple who betrayed Jesus)
…Peter (who
denied Jesus three times)
…Saddam
Housin
…the father
who abandons their kids for another woman
…the mother
who loses her kids because she is mentally ill
... the severely obese person
…the
brothers and sisters who love someone of the same sex
…the pedophile
…now you
think of the people you look down on and add them to this list.
If we are
saints then we are who we are by the Grace of God alone. We are just like the “sinner”
in terms of our sin nature BUT we have Jesus. How can we truly love the least
of these while we have this notion that we are in any way above them or better
than them? The answer is we can’t. And honestly, these wonderful amazing people
can TELL we have this notion. They won’t feel like they can be themselves
around us.
How can you
tell if you’ve fallen in to the trap of thinking you are better? Well, I can
answer this because I see it in myself ALL the time. (So don’t think I’m
judging you, I’m just relating my internal learnings.) You can know if you’ve
ever had thoughts like this about a “sinner”:
...I would
never do that!
…How could
someone do that to their kids??
…If I can
change why can’t they?
…Why don’t
they just get it together?
…I cannot
believe they said that!
…Who could
ever kill an unborn child? Something is wrong with them!
…That person
is just SICK.
…etc.
These are
just some of the thoughts I’ve had. I look at people and expect them to do
things or handle things the way I would (problem #1 because everyone is
different and is shaped by their different upbringings and life experiences and
personality). I look at people and I state the obvious (of course a pedophile
is sick and its wrong to kill the unborn) but I FORGET that if not for Jesus I
could be (would be) in the same place as them. Jesus makes the difference not
anything about ourselves. I think we will always have these wrong thoughts but
we must take them captive and plead with God to change our hearts.
As a mom it’s
a hard walk to walk. I want to protect my kids. I’d rather them not be around
smoking or drinking or talk of anything ungodly. But that’s not realistic is
it? Jesus made wine at a friend’s wedding. He must have been fun and accepting
and grace filled and people saw it. We can say we are things but I think the
true test is whether or not unbelievers see it. Can they be themselves around
you?? Are you even friends with sinners??? And if you aren’t – then why not?? I
would rather my kids be exposed to hard things because we live a life that is
tangled up in love with sinners than being sheltered because of a wrong need to
protect them. Will we sacrifice raising kids who know how to LOVE for kids are who are "safe"??
We are
called to be in the world but not of it. I can, with a clear conscious and full
heart, surround myself with the lost and still maintain my identity. *Within
balance of course, I’m not talking about having only friends who don’t know
God* I’m not friends with people just because I long for them to know the
amazing grace of God and the power of Jesus. I am friends with them because
they are amazing and I love them and they are WORTH something. They add to my
life. I want people to feel free to cuss around me if that’s who they are or
where they are. I want to the Muslim to feel loved by me even though we believe
something fundamentally different. I want the homosexual to feel free to love
who they want to love in my presence. I
want the broken to be free to be broken around me. No one had to get it
together to come to Jesus, and they shouldn’t have to feel they have to do it
for us. Do I agree with everything “sinners” do or believe? No. Is loving them
tolerating their sin? Yes. Because loving them is loving them in their sin and
that means accepting them in it and asking God to bring His love and power and change.
Can I love “sinners” and keep quiet about God all the time? No. There is a
balance of being led by the Spirit and loving them and speaking about what God
is doing in my life. It’s building a relationship that isn’t contingent on
their “salvation”. Again, people sense that. Let love be our agenda. Not a passive
love or generic love… But a PASSIONATE love and a LOUD love.Because I don’t save
people. Jesus does. But I can love them in word and deed and I can in that show
them Jesus’ saving grace.
** As an ending disclaimer I do not write this because I
think I have it all together or figured out or because I live such an awesome
example of this. I can say with confidence that God been challenging me in this
for about 7 years and that I find my heart is reacting more in love for people
than judgment. Praise God he offers hope for change!! And this has also come
through some radical life experiences my husband and I have walked through
since we’ve been married and doing life together. These revelations do. not. come. easy. They come through seasons of intense stripping down of myself until I no longer just feel naked and bare... But realize I have and been that way all along.