Hate

The sin in the world should break our hearts. People with eternal souls are seeking something or someone that will give their life meaning and purpose. Such a pursuit always leads to desperation. They do not need our hate or vitriol; they need to see the love and grace of God at work in our lives. The prophets wept over the heart condition of those to whom they were sent. The Father looked at the world filled with the wickedness of the Roman Empire--and wicked it was!!--and so loved the world that He sent His Son to provide for them access to Him--forgiveness--through His sacrificial death. The only set of people that Jesus condemned were those who prayed, "I thank God that I am not like those sinners." Why? Because unless His grace reached into their hearts and transformed them, they were just like those sinners. They were desperately pursuing meaning in life by the exhibition of self-righteousness. Which, of course, is no more fulfilling then any other Christ-less pursuit. How sobering are our Savior's words, "I did not come into the world to save the righteous but to bring sinners to repentance" Do you and I look at the world and hate or do we look at the world and love it as God did? Do we look and the world and fail to see our own unrighteousness apart from Christ? Is drawing men to Him the motivation of our words and actions? Or is the parading of our own self-righteousness the motivation of our hearts? Are we standing on the corner crying out "thank you, God, that I'm not like one of those sinners." Or are we crying out, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing"? May our self-righteousness and condemnation of those without Christ be swallowed up in a broken-hearted love and pursuit of the lost.

"God be merciful to me a sinner.