Un-perfect people wanted

I was reading the Air 1 verse of the day this morning and it got me thinking about the “Christians” who are always condemning other people’s lifestyles and damning them to hell. Unfortunately, those are the Christians who make it into the news, etc. and impress upon non-Christians that that is how our religion is.

That is not how I understand my God. If one must lead a “perfect” life in order to become a follower of Jesus Christ, then what did He die for? Don’t these judgmental Christians understand that they are trivializing the very sacrifice made by our Savior?

Jesus died so that we would be washed clean of all our sins – past, present, and future – so that we could have our relationship with God restored. That is a pretty big deal, huge. It means that no matter what you have done, are doing, or will do, Jesus Christ wants you. He wants to have a relationship with you. Your sins are forgiven and you are clean in His eyes and the eyes of the Father.

If you are a broken, lost individual, He still wants you. You do not have to conform to some ideal set by the church establishment. In fact, that is exactly what Jesus criticized the Pharisees for doing when He was on earth. They made their idea of what God wanted more important than God himself.

When Jesus was on earth, He mended broken people and reached out to the “sinners” and the lost. He still does that. Jesus is still very much alive today and He wants to have a relationship with you.

So if Jesus wants sinners and we do not have to be living a moral life to seek Him, then what is the deal with all those commandments?

When you open your heart and begin to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ a remarkable thing happens. He changes your heart, which in turn changes your actions.

I am so healed by Jesus’ love, I want to please Him and not only that, but I want to show that love to others. I am amazed at how I find myself treating people who I strongly disliked and discounted before I met Jesus.

My heart is so transformed. I just want to share Jesus’ love with everyone I meet. But most people do not want to hear about Jesus, so I just show them the love myself. I think about how Jesus would treat this person; how would He help this person? Many times, He tells me or shows me what to do. It is truly amazing. He is truly amazing.

The verse of the day I referred to above comes from 2 Peter 1:3. The New Living Translation of the Bible says, “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life.”

We don’t need to meet a certain standard to have Jesus in our life, but once we let Him in, our lives will change forever.