Jesus Didn't Condemn the World - Why Do I?

I've been wrestling with something for the past few months ... maybe even longer, but it has truly become front and center recently.

As Christians, we so often cast a condemning net over the whole world.

This is so far removed from what Jesus did.

John 3:17 says, "God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." (The Message)

Take a closer look at Jesus' actions while he was in the world, and you will see he went to places church people would never go. He sat and ate with sinners. He touched the unclean. He let the poor, marginalized, and abandoned come into his inner circle.

Jesus chose the common people, not the high-society people, as his core. It was through God's power, not man's power, the gospel became a world-changing force.

Yet we forget that in the modern church, I think.

We have elevated celebrity above Christ.

We have turned our back on sinners for the pursuit of larger buildings and bigger numbers. Many churches today only pursue other "Christians" not those who need it most.

When was the last time your church went into the darkest places of your city to simply love people?

When was the last time your church generously offered of its resources to help those in need?

When was the last time you did any of those things?

If I want to be more like Christ, I need to do the things he did.

I can no longer boycott companies simply because they don't follow the "Christian" path, UNLESS they are proclaiming to be a Christian company.

So ABC company takes a stand on an issue that is in conflict with my position? Don't boycott them, that is how the world responds. If you want to respond like Jesus, start loving on the head of the company. Rather than sending them hate mail, send them letters of encouragement. Stand out and you will potentially be given the chance to influence them.

It was only after people hung out with Jesus that they were changed.

That same relationship transformation continued in the early church. The people wanted to be in relationship; with each other, and with those who were still on the outside.

Today's church has turned the process upside down. Rather than going, so many churches simply invite others to come and see.

Come and see? People only come and see when they have a relationship.

The people of Samaria only came to see this man at the well (John 4) because the woman who he had spent time with invited them.

People want to see Jesus. People need to see Jesus. However, condemning the world for being the world won't work. We need to follow in Jesus' footsteps; we need to show love, compassion, and be willing to touch those who the church won't.

Jesus didn't come to the world to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3:17). And because Jesus came to save, we are able to take his message of love and acceptance into a world that needs him desperately.

Jesus didn't condemn the world, why do I?