What was it about Jesus that gave the outcast, the morally fractured, and the poor hope that He could transform them?
I want to share an excerpt with from page 91 of my new book, Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future, Page 91:
How do you and I look at damaged people? Do we look at them through the grace-colored eyes of Jesus, or the dehumanizing lenses of judgment? Sometimes I think Jesus would have been kicked out of many of our churches because of the damaged people He would bring to Sunday service. He would bring sex traffickers; HIV-infected IV drug users; greedy, Ponzi-scheming Wall Street investment bankers; adulterous politicians; crackheads; women who have had multiple abortions; alcoholics who cuss like pirates—and messed-up people like you and me.
As Jesus walked into our weekend services with His motley crew of damaged people, would we see potential trophies of grace? Or would we judge these people and pull back from them in disgust?
It is my prayer that our local churches will have the heart of Jesus for damaged people and be accused of loving the unlovable just as Jesus did. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ” (Matthew 11:19 esv).
I pray that they will attract damaged people the way Jesus did.
