Go and Sin No More

Jesus did, indeed, tell people to stop their sinful behavior. But, that's not the first thing he did when he met with someone. He showed them love first.
I'm continuing with the spirit of "I don't know how to tell you this...but you're wrong" here. Looking at John 5 and 8, Jesus did say "Go and sin no more," (paraphrasing) but it was after he had already healed the lame man and forgiven the woman caught in adultery. The gist of what I'm saying is that we aren't called to tell people to stop sinning. We're commanded to call out, "Come!" To tell the world, "Come find the life that is waiting for you! Life more abundantly! Life beyond your wildest dreams! Come and get it!" Isn't that so much more appealing than "You're a bad person! You're filthy and unworthy of my respect! But come join my church full of people who will think all the same things about you, so you can maybe get cleaned up enough to be respectable." Yet this is the message we so often send out to the world, whether it's in those words or not. I think the best thing to do is to remember how you were before you got saved. And then remember the words that someone, whether it was a pastor, an evangelist, a missionary, a friend, whoever it was, spoke to you to show you God's love, not condemnation. Those are the kinds of things you should say to people. Let them know that they're valuable just for being alive. That Jesus' precious blood was spilled to redeem them, not to condemn them. That they can know a love beyond anything they can dream, and that it will change who they are, which will in turn change their behavior, from the inside out. And lastly that they don't have to stop sinning before they come to him, rather that it will be the natural flow of events after they receive his love and forgiveness.

This came to me as I was typing the last few lines up there. No one remembers Mother Theresa because she was constantly telling people what they've done wrong. They remember her because she constantly showed how much love God has for people. I'm sorry to pull the "Mother Theresa" card, but the reason she's always held up as an example, is that she truly is an example. Think about it.

I may not have it all figured out, but I do say what I think. If you have any questions about faith in Jesus, don't hesitate to email me. It's my job to help you out. Have an idea for me? Let me know in the comments! If you see any spelling/grammatical errors, PLEASE let me know in a comment. I expect others to use correct English, so I should too. Twitter: @GetItReallyReal Please subscribe and/or share.