Loving the Unlovely

So, last night, Luke and I were at Crusade. This week's speaker was Derek Webb, who used to be the lead singer for Caedmon's Call. He really just played a show for us and talked in between songs. Quite a funny man. He told some good stories.

BUT, he also said some really great things, too, that really hit home. He talked about that song from little kiddie choirs everywhere "They will know we are Christians by our love." He said that 'our love' probably doesn't even make the Top Ten list of reasons people would know we are Christians. We are known for standing for or against certain issues, we are known by the way we make decisions in our lives, and probably even more than all that, by the self-righteous attitude that a lot of us carry. He said that if we REALLY loved people...we would wreck our lives, our reputations. We don't want to wreck our reputations, but isn't that what Jesus did? Derek Webb reminded us that Jesus' harshest words were directed to the high-up religious leaders and that his warmest words were for the unlovely--the tax collectors, the prostitutes...the sinners. That really hit home because, I don't know about you guys, but sometimes its hard to love those people that don't live like you think they should. And Derek Webb is right--we don't want to take that chance of wrecking our reputations...even though that is exactly what Jesus did when he hung on that cross.

Just something to chew on.

On a lighter note, LUKAS you are SO unbelievably GORGEOUS. That is why people take you so seriously. All you have to say is "jump" and everyone else asks "how high?"

Jordan M