We should convince others that they have lives worth transforming by helping them cast out their demons, by healing them of their sickness, by loving them without reservations.
There is a quote by Max Lucado that reads, “God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”
So, how do we convince others they have a life worth transforming into the likeness of Jesus? We start by loving them just as they are.
We don’t tell them they need to change right off. Again, we show them what a changed life looks like.
We don’t tell them they are sick and need healing right off. We show them what a whole heart feels like.
And we don’t tell them that were they are is the wrong place to be. We live with them and love them where they are until they realize that there is something better in this world.
Prime example: I’ve heard about a halfway house that has been operating in my community for over a year now, but it just blew up on the community Facebook page a few months ago. Lots of people crying out that “those people” aren’t welcome in our community. We shouldn’t have a facility like that in our backyard.
I hate to break it to you, folks. But, our community has just as many people struggling with addiction as any place else. Instead of casting these people aside and saying, “not in my house,” we should be saying, “what can I do to help?” How can we help you back on your feet? How can we love you like we know God does? How can we help you love yourself like God does?
You see, it is only going to people and loving them like God does that they will ever internalize that love for themselves.
Maybe one of the reasons that we find it so hard to love others like God does is because we are not fully convinced that God loves us all that much.
StainedGlassRebel 