Mark 16:15, English Standard Version

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Recently I have had the opportunity to begin a new Bible study with one of the men who I met with. This individual is someone who had previously completed a course with me and he once again proactively reached out to me asking if we could continue to study the word together. He is hungry to read the word and learn what it has to say to us. As we were talking through the passage that we had read, the conversation turned toward how many times in his life he had felt judged and rejected by people who professed to be Christians and as a result spent many years rejecting going deeper into a relationship with Christ. It made me think about the reality of where we are in the Church today. Are we truly carrying out the great commission? Or do we spend more time judging those who do not know Christ than sharing the Good News with them?

The truth is that, when someone does not yet know who Jesus is, they are not going to live their life for Him. Why would we expect that someone who does not know the truth would live their life according to it? It doesn’t make any sense to do that and yet so often we immediately hold them accountable to the Word and His commandments as though they should know it already.

I think back to my own life and can say that before I knew who Jesus was, I had no understanding of His truth, or His commandments and I had certainly had no desire to learn about them. I simply went along with what the world was telling me I should do in order to experience a happy life. If that is how I was before I knew who Jesus was, why would I expect something different from those who still don’t know Him?

What I hope you come to see today is that, rather than spending time judging other people who do not know Jesus, focus on displaying His love to them. I came to know Jesus not because someone told me what I was doing was sin, but because someone told me that Jesus loved me. Let someone know that Jesus loves them today.