Scripture

Ephesians 2:3

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath (NIV).

Observation

Sometimes I think it’s easy to sit in the church amongst other Christians and look down on the world. We shake our heads, look to the heavens and lament wicked ways and say, “The people of today.” We thank God that we aren’t like them. We believe that the world is getting worse. Are the sins of the world greater now than when we walked around in it sinning? Do we have eyes that see, now? That see the sin since we are saved? Do we? Or are we that Pharisee who prays “‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector'” (Luke 18:11 NIV)? Or are we more like Jesus’ disciples who saw the blind man and asked, “‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'” (John 9:1 NIV) We know “’It was not because of his sins or his parent’s sins,’” (John 9:3 NLT) that the man was born blind. He had been born blind “‘so the power of God could be seen in him'” (John 9:3 NLT).

When our eyes are focused on sin then they aren’t focused on God. We need to stop looking at the sins of the world and start looking at the world with love. The state of sin in the world is no different today than it was thousands of years ago. Paul wrote in Romans 1:30, “they invent ways of doing evil.” Does that sound like the world today? The Psalmist writes:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:1-3 NIV).

Let’s face facts. The world is going to continue “eating and drinking, [and] marrying” (Matthew 28:38 NIV) until it is no more. Jesus tells us, “‘whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father'” (John 14:12-14 NIV). What are “these” that Jesus is referring to? “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor [in spirit]” (Matthew 11:5 NIV). If Jesus said that this is what we would do then we can do it. We can’t do it though, with eyes that see sin. We need to change our perspective.

The only hope we have of changing our perspective and seeing the world with love is to ask God to change our hearts. We need to see with an eternal perspective. We need to repent for seeing people as vessels of sin and see them as our family. It doesn’t matter if they are a Christian or not. Jesus Christ died for all of us. They are the prodigal son, the prodigal daughter, you and me. We are all the same. We are all children of God.

Do you know God? He loves you, and He wants you to know Him. He already knows you and He would rather die than not have you in His family. Jesus died for your sins and mine so that we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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