He Loves Even Me

This appeared in the January 1975 edition of "Plain Talk" published by the Oaks-West Church of Christ in Burnet, TX. The author is unknown.

How may one who is pure, relate to sin and the sinner? Light has no fellowship with darkness (Second Corinthians 6:14-18). Yet Jesus Christ, the purest of pure lived no monastic life. "The Son of Man has come eating drinking, and you say 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by all her children." (Luke 7:34-35)

Space will not permit discussion of the many examples of Jesus' association with sinners but we urge you to read Luke 7:36-50, 15:2-32, 19:1-10 and John 8:3-11 then think with us.

First, we should realize that much of Jesus' ccriticism came from people who judged themselves righteous on a basis of externals. "I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:10-14). The fault is compounded when we judge ourselves "sound" because we oppose something. Such prejudicial and superficial judgment makes it easy to classify all tax collectors (etc.) as sinners rather than fairly deal with each one.

But the universal lesson in all of Jesus' dealing with sinners, and the ever-present contrast of His attitude with that of the Pharisees, was His genuine concern for them. Like a parent whose child has contracted some loathsome disease, He could shrink from the foul contamination even as He reached lovingly for the victim.

Jesus rejected the idea of defilement via touch (Mark 7:14-23); insisting we keep a pure heart as protection against corruption. He shrank not from the woman of bad reputation when she evinced repentance and came to Him for understanding. He could not allow a sulky elder brother to dampen the joy in Heaven over a sinner that repents. He went to Zaccheus' house for the same reason a fisherman goes to water. He sought the lost where they were. He told the adulterous woman, "Go, and sin no more."

We may dismiss our Lord's compassion as a divine attribute; as unreal. Failing to appreciate His motives, we may even excuse our vile life by His pure examples. But we will not be Christ like until we learn this love.