Have you ever fallen in love with the wrong person? I’m guessing everybody reading this, including myself, has. For the record, my wife was the RIGHT person and I am super happy with how all of that has turned out. I want to make that abundantly clear. 🙂
But many of us could tell a story about how the person we thought we loved, was NOT the right person but indeed turned out to be one of many wrong persons we could have fallen in love with.
Usually, that person was the wrong person because they projected an image that was the right person. They were super nice, they paid for everything, they gave you thoughtful gifts and they were always thinking of you. Maybe they liked all of the same things you liked or laughed at all of the same things you laughed at.
Then, there was that moment when they stopped laughing, they thought of themselves more than you, they were mean spirited or they kept track of how many gifts they had given you and expected something in return. Am I on target here?
You found out quickly, they were the wrong person to love.
Jesus frequently loved the wrong people. Let me clarify, He got in trouble for loving what other people thought were “the wrong people”. These people had not played by the rules of the religious groups of their time. Sometimes, they were born into the wrong culture, other times they were born with challenges that other people didn’t have to face and some of them made a series of bad choices that they regretted. These choices had wrecked their lives and estranged them from any kind of faith community. Let’s be honest, the people in those groups were hostile toward them anyway.
They were on the outside looking in. They were hurt with no way of healing. They were labeled the “wrong people”. They were also called “sinners”. This simply means they were messing up and couldn’t get things right; sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally.
When Jesus was here, He spent A LOT of time loving “the wrong people”. It is uncanny how much time he spent with them. He spent so much time with them, He was called “the friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). A shout out to all of my friends out there who work for the IRS. Collecting taxes back then was a totally different gig. In order to get taxes from the people, you had to cheat them to make any money at it and collaborate with what Jewish people at the time considered “the enemy” (Rome). I know you don’t do that. Props to you for doing a difficult job. Please don’t audit me.
The religious people of Jesus’ time couldn’t think of worst categories than “Tax collectors and sinners” so they threw that label at Jesus but He wore it like a badge of honor. He knew that these people needed Him and could appreciate Him more than other people that thought they didn’t need help. They were doing just fine without Him. They were actually hostile toward Him too because He kept “changing the rules” which really just meant, He was truly living out what God had intended to begin with. Loving God and loving others.
I sort of think that if we do this thing right, we should get in trouble for loving the “wrong people”. Like I said before, they aren’t actually “the wrong people”, in God’s eyes, they are the right people. He loves them too and wants them to know it. Its funny how bent out of shape people get when you just do the thing that Jesus did but you do it in the 21st Century! Have you ever tried to speak up for someone that other people were picking on? I’m talking about people that really need your help. People who get pushed down or to the side. Not rich politicians, movie stars or people with a platform. I’m talking about people groups that often get maligned or picked on because they can’t fight back. Maybe it is someone that a church leader or person with a religious background is picking on because they are “sinners”.
Here’s a fun exercise, stand up for someone who is getting unjustly treated and see how religious people react! It might take two seconds so be prepared to wait that long. You can quickly find out who the “wrong people” are by how viscously religious people, who claim to love God, treat you when you speak up.
Please don’t hear what I’m not saying, I am not saying that it is okay to fall in love with people who abuse you, people who manipulate you or people that have no intention of staying with you. That is not okay, and Jesus wouldn’t be cool with that at all.
I am talking about people that are often targeted by the religious elite as being “less than” or are being “othered” in some way. Jesus loved people that no one else loved. Let’s be honest, if everyone knew everything that you thought or if they knew your unedited history, you would be the wrong person too! The same goes for me. I’m glad that no one has the power to read minds (yet) because on my bad days, I think terrible things and I’m not very gracious. I’m glad that Jesus loves me anyway.
Are you glad that Jesus loves you? Aren’t you glad that Jesus loves the “wrong” people? We should get in trouble regularly for loving people that other people want to malign or misrepresent.
Who can you stand up for that needs your help? What is one tangible way that you can love as Jesus loved today?
mlsnellings 