Never Go Wrong Loving God and People

The Bible is summed up with love God, and love people. By people, Jesus means every neighbor, no matter their past or present sins. His love knows no bounds, and neither should ours. He was never afraid to love a sinner for fear of rejection by the religious leaders.

Imagine a person caught up in a willfully immoral lifestyle, laid at His feet today. The crowd accuses, judges, and pronounces condemnation leading to death. What would Jesus do? There is no question that He would show the same compassion and love to them as He did with the woman caught in adultery. Always doing what His Father does, Jesus would point out that only the sinless are qualified to judge and bring condemnation. Then He would tell the accused that He does not condemn them and to go and sin no more or something worse might happen. Yes, God does not want us to sin, for our good and the good of others. The worse that might happen though, is not a threat from God, who just saved the woman and offered her no condemnation. The worse is the suffering sin itself brings and fallen humanity's desire to judge and condemn instead of showing Christ's love and grace.

Jesus came to save. He even showed compassion and love for Paul, the chief of sinners, and then committed the work to us. We are called to be just like Jesus, loving lost sinners into reconciliation with God, not holding their trespasses against them.  If there is ever a question to judge or love, ask yourself who you want to look more like, Jesus or the Pharisees? The Pharisee's counted the sins of others and held it against them. Jesus loved us into reconciliation, not counting our sins against us. The only ones Jesus judged, were the Pharisee's.

God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:19 NASB

God will never, ever judge or condemn us for loving others as He loves us. Even those rejected by many in the church because of their fallen lifestyle.

Jesus declared, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt 22:37-40 NAS 

Do Not Fear! Be like Jesus and let His compassion love sinners others have rejected. Love them well and love them into the Kingdom. 

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” Luke 22:20

by: Michael Edwards