Living in a Christian culture, I’ve noticed something about it – We view sin as bad and following God as good, and we treat it as such. Which is good, until we start viewing people as their sin, and treating them as bad until we see a change in them.
I’ve noticed this in our culture today, especially with specific groups of people – they’re viewed as a sin that needs to be dealt with, exposed, and conformed to God’s law. It’s good to hate sin, and seek to conform ourselves to God. But when we view another person as a sin we have lost the ability to love that person as someone made in God’s image, someone of worth. Instead we end up judging them and hating that person for the sin we feel they represent.
We are to be known as Christ’s disciples by our love.
By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35
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 depend on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
How can that be when all the world sees is our hatred of sin, but no love for the person?
I have a friend who is in one of these groups of people. Her experience with the people who are supposed to show God’s love to her has been horrible. In stead of feeling loved and accepted, she’s been made to feel inhuman.
Friends, this should not be! As Christians we should get to know others, know their hardships and joys, and treat them the way we wish to be treated: with love, respect, dignity. We need to view them as the unique person God made them, someone made in his image.
Maybe they are sinning, and maybe not. There may be more to the issue that you believe to be black and white (I’ve come across this myself), and you would learn of it if you cultivate a relationship. And even if there isn’t more to the issue, just because they’re sinning doesn’t mean we treat them as the sin we see in them… What then of us? Don’t we all have ongoing struggles with sin in our lives? I know I certainly do.
We’re all sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace, given to us through Christ’s blood on the cross. We may sin in different ways, but at the end of it all, we’re the same: loved so much by God that he died for us while we were yet in sin, so that we may have redemption through him.
Let’s be known for Christ’s love.