The Unloved

 

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

Genesis 2: 7  NKJV 

A friend asked me the other day what has come to be a talking point for too many Christians these days.  Can Jesus be seen in broken people?  Traditional Christian theology teaches us that in order for one to even come close to being "like" Jesus that we must first live a near perfect life.  For man is a sinner, always has been and always will be.  Knowing this, our only hope to be close to Jesus is to live as close to a holy life as we can.  But is this what Jesus Himself desired for Gods children.  Is our future one of only being "like" Jesus?  Not if you ask the apostle Paul.  For Paul tells us that it is Christ Jesus who lives in us today {Galatians 2:20}.  But when was the last time you heard a mainstream pastor mention that Jesus is in you?  It would seem that the fix is in, and has been for thousands of years.  We're to live as best as we can, knowing that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, wants nothing to do with being close to us.  After all, how can a holy Jesus ever indwell in sinful man?  This is something I've struggled with through my first years of Christianity.  I was fed the story of Jesus hook, line and sinker.  What else did I have to believe?  Then the words of Paul began speaking to my spirit.  How Jesus gave Himself that He might be with us {Corinthians 5:21}.  How He put sin to death that we should no longer be enslaved to it {Romans 6:6}.  This isn't something just unique to Paul, but to all of Gods children.  Knowing this, ask yourself that question once again.  Can Jesus be seen in broken people?  The answer is YES!  Jesus can absolutely be seen in those whom life has dealt a bad blow.  Jesus is definitely present in the lives of those who others would deem as unlovable.  We see them every day, those who we immediately pass the judgement of the Lord upon.  God could never love him.  How could Jesus dwell in a guy like him?  Believe me, I've heard a few of these words uttered about me as well from a few self proclaimed Christians.  In the end, if Jesus cannot reside in those we deem unlovable, what happens when the tide of public opinion turns against us?  

That they may all be one, according to thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, that the world should be believing that Thou dost commission Me. 

John 17: 21, Concordant New Testament

I have a better question, perhaps a rebuttal to the question asked by my friend.  Why can't we see Jesus in those who we deem unlovable?  Do we have a monopoly on those whom Jesus chooses to dwell in?  Is it we who choose such things?  Thankfully no.  But for those who stick to their guns and proclaim that Jesus could never reside in someone whom society has forgotten, I present to you the breath of life we have all received from the Father {Genesis 2:7}.  See, when God breathed into us the breath of life, a part of Him remained in us.  Simply put, Gods presence in us is part of our DNA.  Knowing this, we understand that Jesus Himself resides in ALL of the Lords children.  Whether or not we notice it does not diminish the fact that He is there.  All too often, it is our own prejudices that cloud our vision of Christ Jesus in others.  How arrogant the believer who proclaims Christ in himself yet denies Him in his neighbor whom he dislikes.  Like I said, what becomes of us when the tide of public opinion turns against us?  Will we become the ones whom Jesus refuses to dwell in?  Will we become the unloved?  In the end, Jesus doesn't play that way.  We do well to recognize that Christ abides in all of the Lords children.  The court of public opinion hold no sway where Jesus is concerned.  It is Jesus who spent a good deal of time ministering to those less fortunate.  It is Jesus who ministered to those whom society of His day had deemed...unlovable.  The woman caught in adultery.  Matthew the hated tax collector.  The undesirable Samaritan woman at the well.  This was the love of Jesus.  This is the love that abides in us.  

And we know and believe the love which God has in us.  God is love, and he who is remaining in love is remaining in God, and God is remaining in him.

1 John 4: 16, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~