I am sure most of you have heard the saying at least once before of, “Well, you must remember to love the sinner and hate the sin.” Some of you might be asking what that means. Basically, instead of hating the person who sinned, hate the sin they committed. Sounds easy right? I thought so too.
God calls us to love every one no matter what. He says not to hate someone because they sin differently than you do. But what if you continuously invest into someones life, guiding them toward a brighter future filled with Jesus, and they turn around and sin in a horrible fashion. What then?
This is the question I have been faced with. Often times, Christians today find it so difficult to separate the sinner from their sin. In Churches, people are afraid to admit to their sin, or even come to the Church in the first place out of fear of being judged. That is a sad reality. Christians can find it one of the most challenging things to differentiate between a sinner and the sin they commit.
I am going to be completely honest and say that I struggle with this exact thing. Often times when I hear about something one of my friends did, or drama at school, it really disheartens me and causes me to be frustrated. That is because I am human. It is hard to love someone who frustrates you in the things they do, even after you invested so much time, but that is what Jesus would do. I now know what God feels like. He invests so much time into us, forgives us constantly, and yet we still fail him daily. But you know what? HE LOVES US ANYWAYS. This is a clear message to me, and I hope to whoever is reading this, that no matter how badly somebody sins, you need to love them anyways.
It is a hard lesson to learn. To choose to love someone instead of judging them. To continuously love the sinner and hate the sin they commit. I know how it feels to want to just change someone’s life. You constantly watch them hurting, and making stupid mistakes, and yet you stand there not being able to solve all of their problems. This has left me feeling so disheartened quite a few times before. My amazing boyfriend recently told me, “You can’t force the change, but you can be a force of change.” How smart is he though? He continued to say that the way we live, offering guidance, and maybe even helping them avoid situations can all be beneficial, but ultimately (and this is the crushing thing), we are not capable of turning their life around. Only God can. That is why we cannot take on people’s burdens, but instead lead people to Jesus who is the only one who can change their life forever.
So if you find yourself struggling with separating someone from their sin like I do sometimes, remember that we cannot blame ourselves for other people’s actions. You did your part in investing, and now it is God’s time to work. Stick by their side no matter what they did. They’ll need more support now than they did before. And most importantly, forgive. As hard as it may be, it is what God calls us to do. We fail Him daily, and yet He still loves us and forgives us. So we must do the same. Lastly, remind the person that God loves them no matter what, and so do you. NEVER love someone less because of the sin they committed. God doesn’t do that to us, so we shouldn’t do that to others. I know it can hurt, but don’t lose heart. I am continuously learning this too. It isn’t easy, but it will be rewarding one day.
Like my mom always tells me, “Love people into the Kingdom.” Sometimes that is all it takes. A whole lot of love and a little bit of guidance. People can be so afraid to admit they they are broken and in need of a Saviour. So if they choose to admit that to you one day, don’t judge them. Instead, lead them to the Saviour that they are in great need of.
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This article originated on Brooklyn's blog
Anchored To Him
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