In the New Testament sinners were drawn to Jesus and many religious folks despised Him. The question I often ponder is why does it seem to be the opposite in our churches today? Shouldn’t the sinners love us and the self-righteous hate us?

What if instead of talking about how bad certain people are and how they are a threat to decent values, we talked about how much God loves them? In Jesus’ day the tax collectors were a great threat to society. The common man was being taxed into slavery. Yet, Jesus never spoke of them as a threat. He loved them, and many followed Him.

What if we refused to call the sinner down the street anything but our brother? What if we could see it no other way? What if we really returned a blessing to those who curse us instead of talking about how God is going to get them?

What if we tried using love to get people to walk with God rather than fear?

What if we treated others like God treats us? What if we forgave in the same way that God has forgiven us? What if we loved in the same way God loves us? What if we forgave with the same measure God has forgiven us?

I think the answer to these questions is very simple. We would make the religious people feel very uncomfortable and the sinners feel very welcome.