I'm often amazed by the lack of love that I see in the lives of "believers." Claiming to follow after God, they have lost the most basic expression of His nature. Blinded by the things that religion sets as the standard for life, they have often pursued holiness while losing sight of people made in the image of God all around them. I'm not sure when this change occurred in me but I remember being "that guy." You know...they guy who gets to decide who is right and wrong. The guy who gets to determine who is worth reaching. The guy who decides who/what is holy and acceptable. Somewhere along the way I became comfortable in bringing condemnation to people. But something changed in me when I heard the word of Jesus in John 3:17. There was something about His lack of condemnation that got my attention. It was then that I decided that there was no room for condemnation in me.
I wish I was perfect in this respect. The reality is that I'm still growing in my awareness of the love of God. I'm also learning how to see the Jesus that is presented in Scripture versus the Jesus that is often portrayed by the church. Remember Gandhi's quote? "“I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." This was his response to some Christian missionaries because of the deep hurt he experienced during the apartheid. Whether we want to own up to it or not, the reality is that we have often fallen short of giving the world Jesus.
What if we took Jesus' approach to life and ministry? I realize this may not be a revolutionary statement at face value but let's deal with it anyway. Seriously, what if we chose to operate in love rather than hate? What if we chose to impart life rather than bring condemnation? What if we chose to really call people out of the darkness of their existence rather than keep them in it? You may say, "Well...that's what we are doing!" Really? Do you really think calling out the sins of the people is bringing them into light? Do we really believe airing out the world's laundry list is the best way to introduce them to Jesus? It seems to me that Jesus was much more critical of the religious system in His day than He was the people that were in the world.
Think about this (for those of you who believe God just can't wait to punish the "wicked"): The Pharisees bring a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery to Jesus [you can read this in John 8]. They cast her at His feet and begin explaining what was written in the law about the necessity to stone her to death. What does Jesus do? He stoops down and begins writing in the sand. He then lifts His eyes to these men and tells them that the one of them that is without sin can cast the first stone. One by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they walked away. Jesus asks this woman "Where are those who accuse you?" Her reply, "There are none." He then speaks these powerful words, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." You and I both know through the Scriptures that Jesus was without sin. He had the right to throw a rock at her and yet He chose to show mercy. Why? Because He didn't come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be made whole. Rather than condemning this woman, He released her into a life where she no longer had to sin. Sound familiar? He has done the same for us.
Jesus said what the Father was saying.
Jesus did what the Father was doing.
Jesus accurately exhibited the reality of the Father to us.
And what was in the heart of the Father? NO CONDEMNATION!!!
My question for the church is this: If Jesus didn't come to condemn the world then what gives us the right?
I'm a firm believer that forgiveness has way more power than judgement. I believe that compassion can do way more than condemnation. What you and I need to reconcile in our hearts is what spirit are we going to allow to dominate our lives? Will we be motivated by love, grace, & mercy or will we simply do what the religious crowd has been doing for centuries? I'm not saying that you have to accept every lifestyle that is out there but I do believe we have to learn how to love every person. I also believe that we need to show the same grace and mercy that was given to us.
When you choose to remove condemnation from you heart then you will be able to look past the junk in someone's life and recognize the reality of who they are. That is the person that needs to be called out...Not the junk in their lives. They were created to walk in relationship with God. And you will have the opportunity to bring them into this realization. The moment you choose to lay down your right to judge, criticize, & condemn, you will discover that love is ready to reach out to the people around you.
No comments:
Post a Comment