"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
John 3:17 (NRSV)
Prodigal Thoughts: Take a moment and read that again. Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn, but to give hope and a way back to the Father. And if we are created for the same purpose (to bring a message of hope rather than condemnation to the world), shouldn’t our message line up with the message of our Savior? I think it is easy to forget that. Over the majority of the last two months, I’ve been staying at a hotel at least one night each week. (This is just due to my current work/home situation.) Tuesday morning, I went to check out of my room and I was informed that I needed to make my reservation for next week as soon as possible due to an event that will be happening in town. Okay. I understood. But then I was told that the "event" was completely against their beliefs and the constitution and that they didn’t want any people that were supportive or would be attending to stay in their hotel. WOW! My spirit was just broken. Why? The event is a PRIDE event and the person didn’t want anyone that lived a lifestyle other than what was in the bible and in the constitution to stay there. Not to sound cheesy or cliche, but what do you think Jesus would do in this situation? I’m not endorsing
the LGBTQ lifestyle, but I’m not so sure we should be focused on someone’s sin. By NO means does Jesus ask us to get our lives together or totally quit sinning before we can come to him. He accepts us where we are and only through relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit can changes be made within. We may not agree with the way that someone lives their life, but does that give us reason to withhold the love and hope of God from them? Jesus would (and does) love all, no matter what. As I’ve said before: We will never look into the eyes of someone that God does not love unconditionally.
Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would be focused on what God would have us say and do to bring Him the most glory and praise. That we wouldn’t let our finite minds and beliefs hinder the message of hope and love to the rest of the world. I pray that each of us would see others as our Heavenly Father sees them. Let’s hold out hope rather than hold back the message.
Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.
God’s grace on you…
Prodigal Mike~
Prodigal Thinker 