People who are insecure
People who are prideful
People who have trust issues
People who watch porn
People who cheat
People who steal
People who lie
Women who sleep around
Men who sleep around
Men who buy women
Men who use women
Women who use men
They’re all hurting. All searching to be filled.
Yeah they might be hurting other people in the process. But that’s what hurting people do, they hurt others.
But you know what I believe? I believe it’s not their fault.
I believe they just wanna be loved.
People just wanna be seen.
They wanna be heard. They wanna be known for every bit of who they are.
And they just wanna be valued for all that they are.
They wanna be cared for in their mess without the slightest fear of judgement.
And I believe it’s the church’s purpose and ( should be) passion to give that kind of tender, powerful love away.
But how come instead we spend so much time fighting against the very ones Jesus fought for?
Why do I see us hate the very ones He loved?
How come we draw away from the ones He drew near?
Church, we’re operating in so much fear. It’s leading us into the poison of pride and the sin of judgement.
We’re not qualified to administer judgement though, only grace.only mercy.
We were given the role of Jesus on this earth.
We’re the defenders of the oppressed.
We’re the healers of the sick.
We’re the ambassadors of hope to the hopeless.
We’re the protectors of the widows.
We get to take in the orphans.
We get to cloth the naked.
We get to feed the hungry.
And give drink to the thirsty.
We need to get over ourselves. I’m so sorry if that sounds harsh.
But we weren’t worth it when Jesus touched us either. We weren’t clean, or kind.
We were hurting and broken once too. Probably hurting and breaking other people because of it. I know I was. And for those people- I am deeply sorry.
We still aren’t worth it, in of ourselves. We’re only worth it now because of Jesus Christ and who HE IS.
So we don’t get to decide who we give Jesus to and who we don’t.
I think if we could see the deep and bloody wounds people have on the inside on the outside, we’d be a church full of certified EMTS and surgeons. Who are running themselves to no end to save as many people as they could.
We’d be a church desperately seeking the Fathers’ mind for wisdom like a surgeon who searches all the articles and books in the world to find a new method just to cure one terminal patient.
We’d be a church in constant pursuit of the Holy Spirit so we might learn to walk in His authority. Because His authority has power that brings the dead back to life. Like an intern who follows an attending around just hoping to glean half of their confidence in operating.
We’d be a church full of EMTS who don’t wait for the hurting, the bleeding, and the dying to come to us, but who go to them with urgency.
We’re so fixated on the outer ugliness of sin and brokenness of people that we don’t ever stop to realize their actually bleeding from the inside out.
And were to recognize that we are fully equip to stop that bleeding.
Instead we stand back and judge. We’re put off by their dirtiness.
Afraid to get too close.
But you know what Jesus taught?
That the clean in Him was stronger than the unclean in them.
So He hugged them. He touched them.
He laid hands on them and prayed for them.
He ate with them. He spent time with them.
And they became whole again. They became healed.
They went from blind to seeing. (Matthew 9:27-29)
Lame to walking. (Matthew 9:1-8)
Dead to alive. (Lazarus- John 11:38-44, Matthew 9:23-26)
They went from stealing to giving.
(Zechariah-Luke 19:1-10))
They went from hardness to kindness.
They went from killing to healing.
They went from hating to loving.
(Saul, Acts 9)
The enemy in this world isn’t a single person.
(“For ALL people were created in HIS image” Genesis 1:27)
It’s not your noisy disrespectful neighbor.
It’s not your rebellious teenagers.
It’s not your spouse who cheated on you.
It’s not the men trafficking women.
It’s not the friend who stole from you or lied to you.
The enemy is the satan. The principalities of darkness.
The bible tells us we are NOT fighting a war of FLESH nor BLOOD.
Church we ARE NOT FIGHTING PEOPLE. We are fighting the forces which we cannot see.
Stop going after the wrong enemies.
People might be doing you wrong. And I am sorry for that. But that doesn’t make them your eternal enemy.
Love them, set them free from their bondage and I promise they won’t hurt you anymore.
(Peter hurt Jesus when he denied to know Him. Peter was one of Jesus closest friends. Jesus chose to love Him, forgive him, and Peter grieves his flesh and then declares His love again)
If people could just love people. This worlds’ injustice would die tomorrow.
So whatever gets you going, women’s empowerment, orphan care, racial equality, fair opportunity for the poor…
Stop looking for a solution, stop trying to start a movement with a sign, or corral people to your side with a status.
Be the solution, be the movement
Be love.
It worked for Jesus, it worked for the early disciples.
It isn’t working for us because we aren’t doing it.
I’m sure ready to see that change though. And I hope you are too.
I know we’re trying, friends. I know we have good intentions a lot of the days.
But I really believe we can do better.
