A Little Less Judgin' and A Lot More Lovin'

I grew up going to church.  We went every week unless something was really wrong.   I grew up with a strong faith instilled in me.   I am thankful for that.   As I got older and older, I met more and more people who loved God, who loved serving God, but hated going to church.  Always broke my heart.  But I have a confession, I was pretty judgmental myself.  I always knew and spoke out on how important understanding was, I always knew there were other sides to every story, but never lived it myself the way I should.   Over the past few years, Ive felt the sting of judgment myself.  Ive seen several different people I love chased out of different churches for false judgements.  

• That girl with the colored hair, she is a youth mentor helping teens see their true value

• That boy covered in tattoos, hes used some of those tattoos to lead people to Christ

• That teenager you see being promiscuous, she was sexually abused and seeking anyone to just love her for who she is
•  That person wearing sweat pants to church and a shirt with stains or images your don't approve of, that was the best they had
• That person sitting alone in the corner to themselves acting weird, they feel all alone in the world and like nobody accepts them
• That single mom, she left an abusive situation and is hanging on by a thread
• That child being overly affectionate, she just loves people and wants it to show
• That woman you see walking the street late at night, she just wanted to provide for her kids and felt that was her only choice
• That man you see drinking a lot, is silently struggling with some major demons and just needs a real friend

Ive seen people say they want to be Jesus to people, then completely turn their backs on them.    Ive seen fellow Christians mess up, confess and ask for forgiveness, and still be TORN apart by people they trusted.   Ive seen other Christians use scripture to try and tear down their brothers and sisters.   (by the way, I just heard an amazing sermon on how Satan used scripture too!   When he came to Jesus to try to tempt him.  Thats right, even Satan used Scripture as a weapon!   Imagine how Jesus feels when he sees his children doing the same thing!)  I've seen people be confronted "in love and in Christ" by yelling aggressively.  People, we are missing something!!!   Something big!   When Jesus came down, he LOVED people!   He did not hang out with just the prophets and disciples.   He showed love to the tax collector, to the prostitute, to the sick, to the homeless, and so much more.  LOVE!  

We wonder why so many of the younger generations pull away from the church when they get older.   There is so much hate and anger in the world, why would they come to our doors to see the exact same thing?

Here is something that was really hard for me to swallow (and at times I still struggle with when it comes to people I view as down right bad people)........we are sinners too!   We mess up!   Sometimes its something as little as a small lie, sometimes its something that goes on for a long time.   Maybe its just sin in our thoughts.  It doesn't matter! So that person you are so sure is such a dirty low sinner...you dont know the whole story....and even if you did, how are you really any better?  How is treating that person with cruelness going to help?  What if whenever we messed up, it was written on our foreheads for the world to see?   What if people treated you the way you've treated the person you dislike and judge the most?

To anyone I have judged in the past, I AM SORRY!   To anyone that has been judged by people who claim to love Jesus, please don't judge Him based on them.  I promise you whatever you do, He knows the whole story, and guess what?  HE LOVES YOU ANYWAY!!!!!