March 10, 2010

Rough Around the Edges

People who aren't saved yet, or people that just got saved, can be very rough around the edges (to say the least!). How do we, as Christ followers, who are farther along in our spiritual development, respond to such people? I suggest we respond to them as Jesus would.

Here's an excerpt from a book by Bill Hybels called Just Walk Across the Room that speaks to this issue:

Jesus was fierce in his determination to look past ill-timed comments and inappropriate actions. He dreamed about what could happen in a person's life if God's power were released in them - and so he pushed through people's fear and sin, and he kept including people, loving people, and lifting people up to their fullest potential.

As you view people through this lens - you have new eyes to see things as Jesus saw them. You allow peope's foibles and failings and faults to fall away, instead seeing them in their potential, Spirit-infused state. You see filthy-mouthed, party-loving, woman-chasing Joe (or whoever), and you say, "What would Joe - even a guy like Joe - be like if God ruled and reigned in his heart? Joe would be incredible if Christ invaded his world!" You start dreaming of that day, in fact. You begin picturing him in his redeemed state. Your love for him grows and grows as you move toward him, engaging in the good, the bad, and the ugly of his life. You find yourself craving oportunities to be around people just like him - people who are on prayer away from becoming your eternal brothers and sisters.

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