Philippians 2:11-13
[11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[12] Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
[13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Matthew 7:1-2
[1] Judge not, that ye be not judged.
[2] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
I have thought of a million ways to approach this topic, but I can only speak from my heart and tell you how I feel led to say what I am about to say. There were a lot of times in my own life where I felt like that people looked at me and condemned me before they ever knew me. Sure my lifestyle wasn’t the best at the time, and perhaps they may have been right. One thing that was not present though was a single person coming to me out of love to see if I needed help. They just assumed I was heading for destruction and did not want any part of helping me. Looking back on that now, it breaks my heart at the thought that out of all of my peers, no one really went above and beyond to show that true love of God. I did not say that to start ranting and raving about how no one cares anymore. I know that there are people that care about me, but sometimes me believing to myself that they do isn’t enough.
Where do we come in as Christians in all of this? As always, we need to apply ourselves in the word of God. If we begin to think about certain instances of the bible, there were several instances of people being upset about others receiving love while they thought they didn’t deserve the blessing they got. The story of the prodigal son showed that the brother that had been with his father the whole time was not pleased with the way that his father welcomed his other brother back after all he had done. The story of Zacchaeus also shows the people around him being upset that Christ chose to go to his house.
And as I think in the days we live in, I see this kind of attitude rise up every day in people that are supposed to be servants of the Lord. We live in a society where there is a system in place that judges people daily and gives them a sentence of how they must be punished for their actions. We as people of God work by a different system. We were not placed here to be the judge of anyone (Matthew 7:1-2). Everyone has their own price to pay for what they have done. How can we cast out others when we were first cast out? People will not think what you have inside of you is real unless love is wrapped all around it. Be that person that goes to someone in trouble and invites them to come to church, to pray, anything that would lead them to God!
People have to accept and admit that their lifestyle may be wrong in the eyes of God. As it says above, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. I can’t make someone live the way I want them to, this is something that God reveals to each individual about what needs to change. But we as a people who put on the mind of Christ that needs to love people beyond recognition. So what am I saying today? I am saying that we need to put our gavels down, and open up our hands to lead people to have a better life through Christ. Remember this the next time you walk into a conversation where someone is making fun of someone else. Instead of joining them, say something positive through faith. Be the one that cares. Be the one that looks beyond their mistakes, for that is what God has done for you!
I’ll end this with a scripture; it says it better than I can:
Luke 6:35-38
[35] But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
[36] Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
[37] Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
[38] Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
