There are times in our walk with the Lord where He will bring you into situations that are totally out of the realm of anything you have ever encountered or experienced before. You suddenly find yourself in a situation where you are completely out of your comfort zone. You have no experiences that are similar to draw upon. Situations where you find yourself wanting to put your hands over your ears and shut out what the person is telling you because you don’t want to know, you can’t identify with them and you certainly don’t want to hear about life styles that you, yourself have tried your hardest to stay far away from, life situations that you have only heard of on the news – never directly in contact with you. In Matthew 14:14 it says:
“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion…”
But then you have to think… What is it that Jesus would do? When Jesus was here, he was with what was considered at that time as the “dregs” of society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the lepers. Time and time again it astonished Jesus’ followers to find that he would be where they least expected him, or wanted him to be. Luke 5:30-32 says:
“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Jesus looked beyond the individual, right into their heart. He knew the heart of who they were. If we are to call ourselves “Christians” (which means to be Christ-like) we have to think that no matter how unfamiliar we are with the lifestyle of an individual, we need to consider how Jesus would want us to respond. We are called to be Christ-like.
We forget that there is NO degree of sin with God. Sin is just that SIN. Whether you lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc. It is ALL sin, and God recognizes it as such. There is no one who is “better” than another, no matter what your back ground is. I have found myself thinking a great deal about the people who came down with leprosy in the days of the Bible. They were ridiculed, they were ostracized, and they were judged by those around them. At that time they were under the “Old Testament” (the law portion of the Bible). I cannot even imagine what that must have been like for them! In serious physical and emotional pain, not dead – but probably living with the wish that they WERE dead. Leprosy is not a common disease anymore, but there are other diseases in this day and age that can cause an individual to feel just as ostracized and alone. When I think of what Jesus would do in those situations, I think His reaction would be the same as it was back then – one of love. He’d reached out and touch those people that were considered “unclean” or “untouchable.” His life was one of compassion. He was unselfish. Giving, loving, caring – Isn’t that the way we are are supposed to be when we come in contact with someone who is hurting? Either physically or emotionally? If we don’t show them the love of Christ, who will?
My own sins and faults are ever before me, I cannot understand how anyone can feel they have the audacity to be able to judge or actually have the right to judge someone else. What a dangerous place to be where you feel you have the authority and right to judge someone else. Have you walked in their shoes? Do you know what led them to make the mistakes they have made in their life? What about the mistakes YOU have made? Are you really in a place where you can stand in judgment of someone else? I can honestly and passionately say – “NOT I!!!”
The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:1-5:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 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? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. “
You may read that and say, “Yes, Kelly – but I have never done A,B, or C.” To which I would look at you and say, “That may be true, but D,E, and F are JUST as bad, so stop standing in judgment of someone else and be MORE concerned about how God is viewing YOU.” The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:6:
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
What should we do??? We should repent. We should confess our sins. We should admit to where we ourselves have missed the boat! We should ask God to help us, to forgive us, to strengthen us and change whatever needs changing within us. Our lives are our individual journeys and there will be MANY times when we “miss the boat” and have to back up and repent and confess again. I know that I have. I think it is just in admitting it that you are on the right path. “Lord, I can’t get through this life without You. I NEED You. Forgive me when I sin. Show me, teach me, guide me, help me!” And He will! We ALL have things we need to work on – and I think that it is the way it will be for as long as we have life in our bodies. The point is to admit it and not deny it! To work on ourselves and instead of judging others – show them compassion! Show them love! Be Christ-like and ask yourself, “What would Jesus have me do???” If that is not something you can relate to, than at the very least – ask yourself how you yourself would want to be treated if you were in that person’s shoes?
If someone has fallen – does it do them any good to rub their face in the dirt? If someone is hurting, does it help them to point it out to them in judgment and mock them and make them feel worse than they already do? I can assure you that when I mess up no one can beat myself up better than I can. I’m pretty good at holding a grudge against my own self. In John 8:4-11 we read:
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Compassion, love, forgiveness and showing them God’s grace, you cannot become “their God” (nor would God want you to) but you can direct them to Him. Your own past and what you have gone through can be used as a great encouragement to others, so that they will know that they are not alone. Our own testimonies can draw people closer to knowing God than anything else. Even if it is admitting your faults or weaknesses to someone else. The only perfect person to live was Jesus.
We are not called to be “comfortable” but to be there for someone else – that they would see “Christ in us” the Holy Spirit that came into our lives the day we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and realize that God’s love is true. It’s real. And He is no respecter of persons. God has NO favorites. As He has loved me – He loves YOU. YES YOU – just as you are right now. In the middle of your stinky mess. He will take that “mess” and make a “message out of it.” Because our Father is in the business of restoration. 1 Corinthians 6:11 tells us:
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Every where that Jesus went He showed compassion, forgiveness, grace and love. He didn’t say it was going to be easy – but it is the reason WHY Jesus came. John 3:17 reminds us that:
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
God left His comfort zone in Heaven and came down to us in the form of a man – the Son, Jesus – to meet us where we were at. If He is to be our example, it should be no surprise when He calls us to leave “our” comfort zones (whatever that may be) to show someone else who needs to come into the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior that God is REAL. That His love is REAL and that He can reach us wherever we are AT.
The days are short – there are still so many people who have yet to personally see or know how real God is. How true His love is. Are YOU a Christian? Is that what you call yourself? Than isn’t it time to stop judging and start helping? Start loving? Start showing? Compassion. That’s where it all begins… That’s what makes all the difference. And they will know who you are by the love that you bear. Because when it comes down to it, it is the Holy Spirit that removes the scales off blind spiritual eyes, how? By showing God’s love. Remember John 13:34-35 tells us:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Walk in love, not in judgment. Remember, it is only God’s forgiveness, God’s love, God’s mercy and God’s grace that covers us and enables us to enter into a relationship with Him. We are NO better than anyone else. Let’s never forget the price that was paid by Jesus. Walk humbly in love.
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