Lately, I have heard much debate about what it means to show the love of Jesus to people living in sin. I have been absolutely shocked at the ideas I have heard and read. I am not that surprised at the people who show no compassion to those who are still lost in their sins, because although it never ceases to disappoint me to see people who have forgotten where God brought them from, I am all too familiar with this response. I am much more surprised in the people (in particular those who claim they are called into ministry) who lie on the other side of the spectrum, claiming that we shouldn't take a stand against sin because that "isn't showing the love of Jesus". These are the people who say that in order to be like Jesus, we should accept the way people are and hope they figure out the truth on their own. So let's discuss the love of Jesus, shall we.
In John 4 we read of the encounter at the well between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
While sitting beside Jacob's well, Jesus asked a Samaritan woman to give him water. This act took the woman back, because the Jews had nothing to do with her people. Jesus told her that He could give her living water that would never leave her thirsty again. When she asked for the water, Jesus told her to go and get her husband. When the woman responded, "I don't have a husband", Jesus said, "You're right you don't have a husband, you have five husbands, and you aren't married to the man you're living with now." (v.1-18) She ran back to her village to tell everyone about Jesus, and they "came streaming from the village to see Him." (v.30) The bible goes on to say, "Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, 'He told me everything I ever did!' When they came out to see Him, they begged him to stay at their village. So He stayed 2 days, long enough for many of them to hear His message and believe." (v.39-41)
Jesus didn't ignore her sin, instead He confronted her with it, even though she didn't bring it up. When I hear those in ministry say that they don't tell people that they are in sin because they just want to show the love of Jesus, I wonder if they have even read the Gospels at all. The problem perhaps is that we are busy focusing on showing love, instead of focusing on being love. The question of "how can we show the love of Jesus if we are telling people they are living in sin?" is actually quite simple. We must become love and that permeates everything we do, without effort. Jesus loved the Samaritan woman. He loved her enough to go to her even though it was forbidden by His culture. He loved her enough to tell her the truth. And because He told her the truth, many in her village were saved.
Being like Jesus means being consumed by love, going to those we are to have shunned, and caring enough to tell the truth.
Another great post
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