Matthew 9:9-11 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinner came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciple, “Why does your Teacher eat with the sinners and the tax collectors?”
Romans 2:3-4 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, patience, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
1 Corinthians 13:5-6 (Love) does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
love [luhv], verb: to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection (for another person)
Being disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to follow His example. We are to follow His example of service, humility, trust in God, and most importantly: love. Naturally, as humans, we are inclined to do things our way. We try to love in our own strength and anything done in our own strength is not done with God’s power. It is not possible to love God’s way without having God and His strength in the mix. To know His love is to know Him deeply.
In our quest to do the right thing and be good Christians, I feel like some of us are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus did and are not depicting an accurate picture of Him. Jesus didn’t isolate Himself from the people, He didn’t sit around and condemn them or air their dirty laundry in front of everyone. He reached out to them. In spite of their sin, He still loved them. Imagine how radical that was–the Son of God, the most perfect being, sitting down and communing with the very sinful people that the religious Pharisees wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Think of where you were when Jesus met you. What would you have done if He isolated Himself from you because of your sin? To me, this epitomizes love–reaching out to people where they were, not waiting for them to change and become less sinful before coming to them (the reality is we don’t have that power to change on our own), and not lambasting them for their sinful, less-than-holy lifestyles. You can’t begin to love someone–to have that deep, tender, passionate affection–without getting to know them for who they are and as they are in that moment.
Now I’m not saying that Jesus approved of people’s sin. He definitely didn’t. Neither should we (Romans 1:28-32). But there is a difference between beating your chest, condemning people about what they’re doing is wrong and loving someone, leading them to the way they should go. Nothing angers me and repels me more than someone telling me what I’m doing wrong and not offering any suggestions on how to rectify the wrong. If you’re telling me what I’m doing wrong and showing me how to change–that’s what I appreciate and respect. Imagine how the world feels when you, a Christian, are condemning everything they do instead of getting to know them and loving them where they are. Why would they want to serve a God whose people are like that?
As Christians, our mission is to go and lead people to Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). You can’t lead someone you’re too busy criticizing and isolating yourself from. If you truly care for them and want to lead them to change, getting down in the trenches and loving them is essential. Showing you’re interested in them and not just so you can criticize them.
Christians are always met with opposition. There are so many things going on in the world that will challenge our faith, tempt us to give in to what the world is doing, and to keep silent when we see something that we know isn’t right. So it’s good to stand for the Word; we always should. We’re called to. We serve a Savior who is a radical figure who stood for what was right and godly. Jesus is a polarizing figure and His message is as well. There are some who are not going to accept Him nor His word. There will be people who will be offended by His Word. But you, as the messenger, should let people be offended by His word and not by you. Let the words of His glorious message cut the hearers to the heart and not you. Approach others always with love and sincerity.
Love is what inspires true change and repentance, not condemnation. In order to show that love to others, we have to personally know that love for ourselves, by knowing Jesus personally for ourselves. We can’t be like someone we don’t even really know. Show people how different Jesus is from the world by doing what He did different from the world–love.