Jesus, friend of sinners.

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.