Discipleship means following Jesus in all the ways that He drew near to sinners
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
How do we deal with sin and sinners?
We tend to keep our distance, which is understandable because we don’t want to appear to approve of the sin. Or we tend to draw near only by correcting, which is also understandable because there is something to be corrected.
In the first case, we keep our distance from sinners, and in the second, they usually keep their distance from us. Either way, the healing medicine of the Gospel doesn’t get to where it’s needed most. As a result, I think we could say on a spiritual level that we’re in the midst of a health crisis.
Is there another way?
It seems to me that Jesus had a different strategy. In His Incarnation, He drew near to sinners — He drew near to us! And His ministry reflected the same pattern — much to the consternation of His critics.
It’s worth looking more closely at Jesus’ pattern because it provides a lesson for us.
In drawing near to sinners, Jesus always did three things at once: 1) He drew near to let people know: You are loved. 2) He drew near and let them know they were loved so they would be able to bear it when He said: This is a sin. 3) Finally, when He named the sin, He also invited the sinner to something higher. He invited them to something higher by three things: His example, which gave Him credibility; His instruction, which provided clarity; and the gift of grace, which gave people the ability to follow His example and instruction.
I think we could do a better job following the pattern of Jesus in our approach to sin.
When we don’t engage because we don’t want to appear to give approval, our problem isn’t that we’re wrong; our problem is that we’re not right enough! We hold fast, which is good — faith requires that! But we hold fast to only one of the things Jesus did. Faith requires more.
The same is true when we engage only by correcting. We follow Jesus in one of the things He did — which is good! But we follow Jesus in only one of the things He did. Discipleship means following Him all the way.
Dear friends, what a daunting task! But what a beautiful call. Jesus shows us how to administer the healing medicine of the Gospel. Isn’t that precisely the remedy the world needs?
I think, if we study the Gospels and let the example of Jesus fill our imagination, we’ll find both confirmation and challenge for our approach to sin. Confirmation, because we’re not wrong in some of our strategies. Challenge, because we’re not right enough!
