Then
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life." John 8:12 (NKJV)
- If
we have the light of life, we can see clearly.
- If
we know our bible but are not changed by the love of God, our
knowledge is worthless.
Whoever
does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8
(NIV)
"For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John
3:16 (NIV)
- If
this love does not dominate our thinking, we are living in darkness.
Very
few people are really blind. Most of us can see with our eyes but
what do we see in our hearts? How do we understand what we see?
Three
men looked at a prostitute.
- One
man looked and desired her. He was looking for sexual excitement.
- A
second man looked and saw a bad woman. She was evil and she was under
God’s judgement.
- A
third man looked and saw a woman who had suffered much.
He thought of
his own little daughter, his wife and his mother. He looked at the
prostitute and wondered what suffering and confusion led her into
this life. No little girl dreams of a future in prostitution. He saw
a woman in need of real love and the mercy of God.
- Jesus
of Nazareth thought like the third man and Jesus is the same today.
- Sadly there are some Christians who think like the second man.
In
the same chapter of John’s Gospel we read how religious men brought
a woman to Jesus.
They had caught her in the act of committing
adultery. What kind of man would stalk a woman to catch her in the
act? But these men thought God would approve of their zeal for
morality.They
challenged Jesus and demanded the death penalty for the woman.
Jesus
was not happy. He loved justice but where was the man she had sinned
with?
- Why should he condemn the poor woman to death while the man
went free and the accusers were rewarded for their cruelty and pride?
- Jesus
was not only full of love but also full of wisdom. He had the perfect
answer.
So
when they continued asking Him, He … said to them, "He who is
without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." John
8:7 (NKJV)
The
accusers all retreated in shame.
- If
we live in the love of Jesus and let God lead and teach us, we can
also think and react like Jesus.
John
Dawson was the leader of Youth With a Mission in Los Angeles.
Like
Jesus he did not despise anyone but his heart was set on introducing
everyone to the love and mercy of God.
He
wanted to reach a man who owned a sex shop, so he made friends with
him and met him for breakfast every Wednesday morning.
- When Jesus did
things like this, the religious people in Israel called Jesus a
friend of sinners, and it was not meant as a compliment.
John
Dawson explained the Good News of Salvation to the man and he
understood the message completely but he was still not willing to put
his life into the hands of Jesus.
- Then John had an inspiration from
God. He saw the man with the eyes of Jesus and he told the man how
God saw him.
This
man had the gift of mercy but he was not using it right. He was
selling pornography, a kind of comfort but a false comfort.
Jesus was
offering to change him, so he could give true mercy and goodness to
people in need. First he needed to receive mercy and forgiveness for
himself.
The
man changed his mind and asked Jesus to turn his life around.
- Are
you ready to see people as God sees them?
- Are
you ready to see even yourself through God’s loving eyes?
- God
knows about your failures but he sees your potential.
- With
Jesus we can even look at bad people with the eyes of love.
