I can see your sin from here...

I never expected when I wrote those words that sin- your sin, my sin - would become the centerpiece of my ministry. I had been moved by a pastor’s sermon to write the piece and it challenged every work thereafter to meet a standard of compassion and communication.

When I saw that I was revisiting the concepts of God’s love in light of Christian’s persecution of Christians, I was glad I had found my voice and place yet  I was heartbroken at the need for such a voice and that such a dark place existed.

Jesus’ Eyes (Not Unclean) was meant to be a celebration of our acceptance in Christ, a great concert-closer. Instead the song became an introduction to all my future (I.e. repeated over and over) efforts to point out to so-called “christians” (lower case intentional)  that we don’t own God’s grace. 

How cruel so many have been to me. I remember an email stating that God loved what a man had just flushed down his toilet more than He loved me. As much as these remarks can hurt, it’s nothing compared to the reality that if these “christians” speak this way to me, one can only imagine the manner in which they address their family, co-workers or strangers on the street.

Freedom of speech should not extend itself to verbal brutality yet with the advent of the internet and the anonymity it provides, the keyboard is certainly mightier than the sword. Sad that it is all too often in the hand of cowards.

Yes, I call many of my fellow brethren cowards. Seemingly gone are the days when it was commonplace to meet someone who not only truly loved the Lord but was broken in His presence. Years can go by without ever hearing the words, “sin,” “repentance,” or “humility” except when directed at others. How many of you have commented to a friend in the past year something akin to, “God really spoke to my heart about the way I was being (acting, thinking, living) and I felt really convicted and repented (cried my eyes out) before the Lord”?

Again I ask, how many times in the past year have you commented to a friend about the shortcomings of another believer?  I suspect it’s with greater frequency-to say the least! Like everyone else, I have always struggled with working out other people’s salvation more than concentrating on my own. It’s a gift we find in our flesh.

That’s not a justification in light of the love, acceptance and forgiveness we have all received in Christ. When we can’t remember the last time we sincerely extended that love it’s clearly time to repent. And maybe even get saved.

It’s easy to preach. Just stand on a box and point a finger. It’s harder to teach but nothing compared to teaching by example. If “in Jesus’ Eyes there are no lepers”  who are we to make his children feel so dirty, wrong and hopeless?

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