Judy & I took care of two of our grandchildren all last week. On the last evening we decided to take them to Spotted Cow for one last memory-maker. My 4 year old granddaughter reached her hand in mine, and without looking at me, simply said, ‘Papaw, I love you.’ There’s nothing more special than to hear, unsolicited, the words ‘I love you.’ To know you are unconditionally loved by someone is priceless.
Jesus loves people more than anything. He demonstrated His love by dying on the cross for the sins of the world. And yet, we discover that many questioned His love for ‘everyone.’ Surely He didn’t love the ‘sinners’ as much as He loved the ‘good’ people.
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:15-18)
The scribes were the custodians of the text of Scripture & the Pharisees were the custodians of the traditions of the Scriptures. When they saw Jesus eating with ‘sinners’ they questioned His actions to hang out with them.
These religious people thought themselves to be good people and classified others as bad people. But their attitude allowed Jesus to explain a simple Gospel truth – no one is too bad for Jesus to save, but many people think they are too good.
They judged on a scale of relative values. But God has a different scale – His own absolute goodness. That leaves everyone in the same category. We are all lost sinners in need of a Savior.
In a small cemetery of a parish churchyard in Olney, England, stands a granite tombstone with this inscription on the back: “John Newton, clerk [pastor], once an infidel & Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy.” You may not remember his name, but all of us know the song he wrote as a testimony of his life: “Amazing Grace.”
Jesus loves you more than anything – even sin. He did not condone our sin. He died for our sin. Those who come to Him in repentance will find their sin removed and Jesus will live forever with them. What a blessing! Jesus loves us more than anything.
I encourage you to be Jesus to those around you. You don’t have to agree with someone’s sin to love them. Jesus didn’t. I think many people think Jesus hates them because of the way they’ve been treated by some who claim His name. Somebody needs to live the truth in front of them – that Jesus loves them.
Take some time today to show love to someone who really needs to know that Jesus loves them. Maybe He will use you to build a bridge between Jesus and them.