How many of you have heard people say they would never go to church because Christians are judgmental and hypocritical? As someone who absolutely loves my church and the worldwide church, this breaks my heart. I wonder what was said to them that gave them this awful view of church and Christians.
Certainly, the church is made up of flawed humans of which I am one. We are all sinners, saved by Jesus’ grace, and in the process of trying to become more like Him. So, of course, sometimes we get it wrong. However, some of us can adopt a ‘holier-than-thou’ lens through which we view not-yet-saved people. We might judge them in our minds, in our hearts, or with our words.
I recently read 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. These Bible verses were written by the Apostle Paul and I have read them before, but this time they hit hard and I can’t shake them.
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
We are not to look for the sin or the dirt in others – we are to share how much God loves and wants them. People know their sins. What they don’t know is that Jesus provided a way back to the waiting arms of Father God.
We are to carry God’s message of love and His desire to have relationships with those around us. Not to judge, to reconcile others back to God. No one is too far away nor has committed any sin that makes them unlovable or unsavable. God wants to draw every single person back to Himself. He wants them back…forever.
This is His message of reconciliation. That is our ministry of reconciliation – to every person we know who is not following Jesus. A message of love and of hope. We all will have an opportunity to extend His message and love to people around our table this week. Remember, you are God’s ambassador.
Happiest of Thanksgiving!
Sylvia Gaston is Connections Pastor at Koinonia Church in Hanford, CA. She can be reached at sylvia@kchanford.com or 559-582-1528.