Church Is The Only Hospital That Won't Accept Sick People

You may think this title is a little extreme, but if you really think about it, isn't it the truth? Today's Christians preach a gospel that isn't found anywhere in the Bible. We preach the message of religion instead of relationship. We turn away the "unclean", telling them they have to clean themselves up before they can be accepted, all the while forgetting that we were once and still are considered "unclean" without Christ. Alcoholics are turned away. Homosexuals are banned. People who may dress a little different may not necessarily be rejected, but they sure are talked about behind their back. Where did we go wrong? This is not what Jesus taught, and this definitely wasn't what He lived. When are we going to stop condemning people, and just accept and love them as God does? This does not mean we are giving them a license to sin, but it means that we would be showing them unconditional love and acceptance, which in turn could change their lives and cause them to grow closer to God. God changes people. We can't. So, let's stop trying, and just love them. He'll do the rest.

Matthew 9:9-12, Jesus tells us how we should go about it.

9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus associated himself with the outcasts. He sat, ate, and fellowshipped with them! In other words, He just loved them....right where they were, exactly how they were. God loves us for who we are, not who we try to become. Why can't we love others in this same way?

Far too many times, and I've experienced this in my own life, condemnation is the rule rather than the exception. People are told what they are not supposed to be doing instead of being told "I love you, no matter what you're doing or what you're going through". This is sad. Jesus requires MERCY, not sacrifice. If you do not show mercy, you will not obtain mercy.

Does this mean we are giving people an excuse to sin? Of course not. We are just showing them the unconditional love, grace, and acceptance of our heavenly Father. We should trust HIM to do the rest in their lives. We're not their Holy Spirit, therefore, we should not try to be.

In closing, let us be Christ. Let us love, unconditionally. If there is someone who is living a different lifestyle than you that you may not agree with, just love them. Don't condemn them, and don't point out their "sin". Because, believe me, their "sin" has probably been pointed out thousands of times before you came along. So just LOVE....let God work and just love. Accept the sick. Some already know they are sick. We don't have to tell them. All we need to do is help them heal, and the best way to do that is to accept them and love them right where they are. No strings attached. If God loved us any other way, His love would not be perfect. It shouldn't be any different with us.

-Seeker