I don’t think anyone has ever been more accepting or welcoming. He fed and healed countless numbers without question. It says He had compassion on the crowds who seemed lost without direction. He interrupted a funeral to raise a young man back to life because He felt sorry for the mother. He embraced an outcast leper. He was kind to foreigners. He affirmed women and young people. Among His friends were rich and poor, tax collectors and zealots. And to climax it all, He sacrificed Himself that this whole colourful mix of people could be made fit and welcomed into Heaven.
But there’s one thing Jesus never did.
He never, ever said it is alright to do something which God says is all wrong.
Check His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. There’s no way round it. The Son of God affirmed and strengthened the Ten Commandments, setting a moral standard most find daunting if not impossible. The standard is perfection and we all know from experience there’s a million and one ways of missing the mark. It’s sobering to remember that line of the Creed which says Christ will one day ‘come again to judge the living and the dead’!
The Lord’s amazing balance of love and holiness is probably best illustrated by an incident in John 8, where someone is ‘caught in the act’ of a serious sexual sin. Jesus refuses to ‘cast the first stone’, though He alone could. He releases the person without condemnation but gives them a clear command to ‘leave your life of sin.’
And this is the example Christians aspire to follow. Loving, accepting and welcoming people, while rejecting some of the things people practise.
We may understand their reasoning and circumstances. We could empathise deeply with their feelings and desires.
But while governments legislate to allow for the killing of the innocent and the practise of things God calls sinful perversion we cannot give our approval. We cannot say yes. We will not.
We will love people, even our enemies, whatever their colour or conviction. We will gladly share our roof, our food, our music and friendship with everyone. But we must not condone wrongdoing.
The love of Jesus demands better.
But there’s one thing Jesus never did.
He never, ever said it is alright to do something which God says is all wrong.
Check His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. There’s no way round it. The Son of God affirmed and strengthened the Ten Commandments, setting a moral standard most find daunting if not impossible. The standard is perfection and we all know from experience there’s a million and one ways of missing the mark. It’s sobering to remember that line of the Creed which says Christ will one day ‘come again to judge the living and the dead’!
The Lord’s amazing balance of love and holiness is probably best illustrated by an incident in John 8, where someone is ‘caught in the act’ of a serious sexual sin. Jesus refuses to ‘cast the first stone’, though He alone could. He releases the person without condemnation but gives them a clear command to ‘leave your life of sin.’
And this is the example Christians aspire to follow. Loving, accepting and welcoming people, while rejecting some of the things people practise.
We may understand their reasoning and circumstances. We could empathise deeply with their feelings and desires.
But while governments legislate to allow for the killing of the innocent and the practise of things God calls sinful perversion we cannot give our approval. We cannot say yes. We will not.
We will love people, even our enemies, whatever their colour or conviction. We will gladly share our roof, our food, our music and friendship with everyone. But we must not condone wrongdoing.
The love of Jesus demands better.
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