In a day when many feel it is the job of the Christian to
point out the sins and mistakes of others, I personally do not see Jesus being
that way.
Jesus associated with all kinds of people and he showed love
toward them. He was genuinely interested in them and accepted them. That does
not mean he always agreed with them, but he accepted them as they were. He
treated them with love and respect.
Acceptance does not necessarily mean we agree or condone the
actions of another, it means we are kind, respectful and show the love of God
to them. We obviously are not all going to agree on things, yet we should be
able to treat one another with kindness.
Many say we have to point out the sins of others and warn
them of impending doom or we are not fulfilling our obligation as a Christian.
Yet I feel that we are told the Spirit will convict people of changes that
should be made. The Spirit will draw people to the Father. We are not called to
do the work of the Spirit, we are called to show the love of the Father to all
people.
My opinion is that showing love and acceptance to people is
more in line with the way Jesus treated others. He did not condemn, he did not
hate, he did not associate only for ulterior motives of getting people to join
him. In fact, the only people Jesus seemed to have issues with were the
religious leaders who thought they were so much holier than others. They were
mad at Jesus for associating with people they determined were the sinners and
lower class of the day.
For me, rather than point out sins, rather than show
condemnation and many times down right hatred towards people, I would rather do
what Jesus tells us to do. Love God will all your heart, soul, strength and
mind and love your neighbor (all people) as yourself.
We love through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Love
and genuine friendship will draw people into conversations and respect for one
another, thus providing an atmosphere where we can all learn from one another
and respect one another.
Unfortunately, one of the major issues many christians seem
to have is in regard to LGBTQ issues. I am not sure why, but people who
consider this to be a sin jump on this issue more than anything.
To me, I like to follow this way of thinking. Whether you
are LGBTQ affirming or not, there is no reason to treat people with hate and
contempt. Whatever you think about LGBTQ, right or wrong, affirming or
non-affirming, be respectful, kind and show the love of God to all people.
We are all made in the image of God. We all have our
interpretations and opinions. We each have to follow what we feel is right for
us, but we do not have to force our views on others. We all deserve respect and
the same equal rights as anyone else.
Accept each other for who we are and follow your convictions
for yourself. There is no reason to be hateful toward anyone. We are all loved
by God just the way we are now. If there is anything that needs to be corrected
or changed in us, the Spirit will gently persuade us in the way we should go.
It is not up to people to do the work of the Spirit.
Love and accept others. This means LGBTQ, atheist, people
from different religions, races and nationalities. We do not all have to agree.
Show each other love. Love makes more of an impact on people than does hatred,
condemnation and forcing personal views on them.
Remember we are not told to go force our views and beliefs
on others. We are told to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.
