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I have been noticing again that we are really good at recognizing sin… in others. We are so good at seeing what is wrong in our neighbor. And in a way, that’s not bad. Wrong is wrong. But the problem is, we see the wrong and say, “I can’t believe they did that!” when the reality is we certainly CAN believe it, because WE do it.
I guess we Christians are the best at this. We have this sense of self-righteousness, the righteousness that we have earned by our intense effort to live out the rightousness commanded in scripture. We may not get it ALL right, but we are working hard to get most of it right.
So, when we see someone who is clearly not even trying to do what God says, then it’s easy to point our finger in accusation. “I can’t believe he did that!”
I think this is what has kept the church from really helping people. We work so hard to be righteous, to obey all of God’s commands, either out of fear of God, or out of a genuine desire to please him, but either way, it only leads to frustration. WE CAN’T DO IT. We can never be righteous through keeping the law. That is why Jesus died on the cross. We couldn’t beat sin and death. But he could. So through faith in him, we are made righteous.
We know that. We do. But it’s so easy to think we are righteous by our own efforts, and condemn the others who aren’t. But then we close the door on any chance to share the deep love that God has for them.
Do you remember how Jesus treated “sinners”? Who was it that Jesus hung out with, spent his time with? Was it the clean-cut, church-going, got-it-together folks? No! Not even close. Jesus HUNG OUT with the dregs of society. The tax-collectors, the prostitutes, the lepers, the zealots, the gruff fishermen (don’t know if they were the dregs…), he was even ostricized for giving attention to the children.
He spent his time with the sinners. He wasn’t offended. He didn’t have to wash his hands after they left. He wasn’t too holy to be around them. He did not demand that they change their ways before they entered his presence.
He just loved them.
Wow, if we could do that. Instead of playing junior-high gossip and finger-pointing games… we would help a lot more people know the love God has for them, and in turn, help a lot more of them experience the joy of living a life led by the Spirit, instead of being trapped by our sin.
True freedom comes in letting Jesus be our righteousness, not striving for it ourselves. That righteousness is a love for the One who is righteousness. We want to be like our dad. Not because we’re afraid of his punishment, but because we think he is the most amazing Dad ever there was.
And when we live like that, His love is the only thing that matters. We know we are loved, so opinions of others don’t matter. The faults of others are not offensive, as we know we are faulty as well. Love for our neighbor is easier as we admit our righteousness is not ours, it is from God. Otherwise, we are just like them, hurting, lost, and missing the abundant life God wants for us. A life spent with him.
So next time you’re pointing the finger, just remember, Jesus is not pointing fingers at you. You are loved. And so are they.