Are We Supposed to Love Everyone?

Just to be clear, the above picture is not a symbol of love. Are we supposed to love everyone? Yep. "But what about homosexuals?" Of course. "What about terrorists?" Yes, sir. "What if they're all rolled into one?" Yes, even then.

Love doesn't always mean condoning or approving, it means to love. Sometimes love takes many different forms. Love can be tender and supportive or love can be stern and confrontational. My heart hurts (and it hurts the perception of Christianity/Jesus/God) when I see people showing hatred towards someone for their sinful nature. No person is sinless in the eyes of God and we all fall short of Jesus' standard of perfection. It is completely possible to dissaprove of a behavior out of love for the person without sugar-coating the truth -- we shouldn't dissaprove of the person but we should dissaprove of their wilful acts of sin (but there are limits to the point we should continue to associate with someone who persistently pursues a destructive path, but that doesn't mean we stop loving them).

Just because we love someone doesn't mean we should let sinful acts go unnoticed or unpunished, in fact it's quite the opposite. Sin should be addressed in a straight-forward manner with love. If you confront someone about their sinful lifestyle out of anger or condescension, it probably won't go over to well (see protesters at top of page). One of the ultimate purposes of our lives is to tell people about Christ and the redemptive grace he offers. It's hard to model redemption and forgiveness while bashing/yelling/denigrating.

Let Jesus be your example (Luke 15:1, NIV) --

¹Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Upon hearing the grumblings of the Pharisees, Jesus began to deliver parables (little stories). The parables outline grarce, redemption and rejoicing. The Pharisees felt above the tax collectors and sinners and couldn't imagine why someone of Jesus' supposed stature would visit with the commoners, Jesus just felt love.