Dear Christian, Never Give Up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZmuz88KEY

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” –Luke 15:20

The entire fifteenth chapter of Luke is a series of three parables about lost things: a sheep, a silver coin, and a younger son. It is worth noting that all these things have progressive value. The sheep would have been commonplace, the silver coin (worth a day’s wages) would have been of far more value, and anyone could relate to the irreplaceable loss of a priceless child.

Now, tax collectors, various “sinners” of all sorts, the Pharisees, and teachers of the law gathered around Jesus to listen. The Pharisees and teachers had just been muttering under their breath, complaining about the fact that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. I can hear the disdain in their voices. It would be like a modern-day religious person saying, “If Mike knew what I know about Frank and his buddies, he wouldn’t be inviting them over to dinner all the time.” Jesus had the opposite attitude. He invited people of all walks of life to his gatherings–both religious snobs and prostitutes. He ate with them and didn’t care who was watching. He dived in and got his hands dirty–he got social. Why? Why did an up-and-coming Jewish rabbi (teacher) risk his own reputation with those in power?

Because it was the right thing to do. And because Jesus knew that real power comes from God and is birthed in love. Jesus loved others and he always perfectly reflected God’s love toward us. We should also try to reflect that love. If we were to look in a spiritual mirror, would we see love? What if we saw fear, superiority, or indifference?

If I am honest with myself, I see fear. Sometimes a bit of indifference (I’m too busy. It’s not my problem). Sometimes I’m afraid to share the gospel for fear of making a mistake. I might misspeak, or what if I offend someone? What will other people think? Then I pray about it, and God reminds me that my focus in on myself and not the other person. The Lord has something akin to emotional algebra that states “x” amount of worry is always less than “y” amount of love.

These parables here in Luke sum up God’s heart for the spiritually lost, or anyone famished for God’s love and care, anyone whose heart seeks forgiveness. Note that verse 16 says: “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” Verse 18 says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” Note the change of heart. This could include people in our own church, even those struggling with sin.

Now this is for the spiritually mature Christian. Paul says in                      1 Corinthians 5:11: “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater, slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” Surely Paul did not have in mind a mature person who speaks and prays with another for the goal of gentle spiritual correction and restoration. His concern was that the relatively young church in Corinth was having some issues, and he feared that the bad behavior of some would tear down everyone else (verse 6). Paul was writing to impressionable Christians who wanted to socialize with “sinners” for their own pleasure. This was a wrong motive. Love and restoration of a believer is a right motive.

But Jesus warns us against having the wrong attitude. He says, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:4) If sin is the speck of sawdust, what is the plank? Judgmentalism. If a person can’t see his own weakness and need for God’s help, how can he presume to help someone else who has a burning, stinging, scratchy, tear-producing sliver of wood in something no less sensitive than your eye? I, for one, would not want anyone touching my eyeball if they couldn’t even see. They would either simply miss the cause or could gouge my whole eye out! Ouch! Talk about making someone blind to God’s love.

Jesus also said in Matthew 18:17 that if an unrepentant sinner won’t listen to you, two others, or even the whole church, that we should “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” Does this justify a judgmental attitude? How did Jesus treat the tax collectors and sinners? Like they were lost sons and daughters.

Ephesians 5:1-2: “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

If you are a Christian who is struggling to live a godly life, break a bad habit, forgive someone, escape from addiction, or whatever else is “common to mankind,” I want you to know that God is faithful, even when we are not. (1 Corinthians 10:13) You may be a spiritual mess, like the young man in the video who has given up and is a physical and emotional mess. The Lord will help you even when you’ve given up hope. He will pick you up in his arms. He will carry you on his back. He will work with you until you get it. He will cry when he sees you try. He will applaud your first steps. He will throw his arms around you and hug you and kiss you, because you were near death, and have been revived.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help us trust you and love like Jesus. Not necessarily a warm, fuzzy kind of love, but a gritty, tenacious kind of love, one that empathizes with a person’s true spiritual state. They may cuss, swear, drink, stink, dress weird, think they’re tough and to be feared, seem aloof and above reproof, wear nose rings and sport full-length body tattoos, or simply hate the Good News . . . but their true state is one of utter weakness and brokenness before You. Help us see them this way so that we can bring them to Jesus to mend and make whole. Amen.