Love, Acceptance, Forgiveness

"If we are the body, why aren't our arms reaching, why aren't our hands teaching?...."

I have found an epidemic running through our church....our one, united, body of Christ, which we call a church. I have found judgment and hatred in all forms. This saddens me so much meet people who are afraid of going to church to worship. When asked why they would be afraid, the most common answer I receive is that they will be judged because of their lifestyle. Some may smoke, drink, have had affairs, an addiction of some kind...generally something that makes them embarrassed to be surrounded by what they consider to be "perfect Christians."

The message to the Corinthians in 1Corinthians 13:13 was "And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I wonder where our church has gone wrong with emphasizing the LOVE part of this message. To love a person is to accept them just as they are. By loving someone who may not know the word, or maybe just isn't living in it, we as Christians show them the power of the Holy Spirit. I mention the Holy Spirit because it is very hard to not be angry with certain acts that a person can commit, but by enabling the Holy Spirit to take over and show us how to love, we are exposing this person to Christ.

I feel that the building that we all call "church" should be packed with people who we feel uncomfortable with. For Jesus did not spend time with people who already knew the Lord and believed that He was the Messiah, but rather he spent time with the most despicable people of the times.

Loving is not easy when it comes to the worldly view of things. Spending time with a murderer and showing them the love of the Lord comes with much condemnation. Each time I go to see my father, or take him a Christian book or a new bible, I am judged by others. Sadly enough, they cannot see that the Holy Spirit is working through me to show this love to my father.

I am suddenly taken back to a conversation that I had with my father. He mentioned that he was lost and searching for someone to talk to before killing my mother. He desperately wanted to be heard without being judged. He wanted to be heard and be loved. That leads me to wonder....how many other people in this world fall in the same predicament. Who else is afraid to enter a church and talk openly to a pastor or staff? Who else may be saved from a horrible decision or turned to Christ in a moment of desperation, if only they knew that the Church is a place where they can be loved?

When searching the Word for guidance on how to handle such an issue, Luke shares Jesus' words "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:37-38. I am a sinner...this I know. I have done some horrible things. I know that these things are not approved of by the Lord, but I know that when I ask for forgiveness and beg that He would show me the right way...He does. He also tells me in Luke 6:37-38...dear child, do not judge or condemn your father (or any other sinner for that matter). Forgive him, give him your love...for if you do these things, I will treat you the same. He tells me not to measure his sin, but use good measure. My interpretation of good measure is consultation with the Word.

I pray and hope for the Body of Christ, the Church, to search deep into what is the greatest of these....to love without bounds. To love first and then get to know someone.