I have come to a place in my faith where I would rather upset my fellow Christian community by loving the people Jesus called us to love than fit comfortably among Christians united by who they condemn.
That may not always make me popular.
It may not earn me invitations.
It may make some people question my theology, my priorities, or even my faith.
But I can live with that.
Because when I look at Jesus, I don’t see someone building His ministry around determining who was worthy of love.
I see Him moving toward the hurting.
Toward the rejected.
Toward the outcast.
Toward sinners.
Toward people religious society had already written off.
Jesus touched the untouchable.
He ate with people others avoided.
He spoke with people others ignored.
He defended people others condemned.
He showed mercy when others demanded judgment.
And He commanded us to love our neighbors—not just the neighbors who look like us, vote like us, worship like us, think like us, or agree with us.
Love is not supposed to be selective.
If my Christianity requires me to hate someone in order to prove that I belong to the right group, then I need to take another long look at Jesus.
I don’t want to be part of a Christian community that is united primarily by the people it opposes.
I want to be part of a Church united by the One it follows.
Jesus.
I would rather be criticized for loving too many people than praised for condemning too many.
I would rather be accused of having too much compassion than too little.
I would rather stand beside someone who is hurting and remind them that they are loved than stand at a distance and remind them of everything they have done wrong.
That doesn’t mean truth doesn’t matter.
It does.
But Jesus never separated truth from love.
Grace and truth walked together.
So if loving like Jesus makes me uncomfortable to some Christians, I’ll accept the discomfort.
If compassion makes me controversial, so be it.
If welcoming the hurting makes some people question me, I’ll answer with the example of Christ.
Because at the end of the day, I don’t want to be known as someone who was really good at identifying who was wrong.
I want to be known as someone who loved people well.
I want people to encounter Jesus when they encounter me.
Not my politics.
Not my anger.
Not my judgment.
Not my tribe.
Jesus.
There are already enough Christians standing together because of who they condemn.
I want to stand with Christians who are willing to love because of who Jesus is.
So yes…
I would rather upset my fellow Christians by loving the people Jesus called us to love than fit comfortably among Christians united by who they choose to condemn.
Because I would rather be uncomfortable with people while following Jesus…
than comfortable with people while becoming unlike Him.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” — John 13:35
Love isn’t weakness.
Love isn’t compromise.
Love isn’t abandoning truth.
Love is one of the clearest ways we show the world that we belong to Jesus. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 
Leave a comment