When Jesus walked up to the lost and sick, the first thing He did was to show them their treasures – their purpose, value, and most importantly His love for them. Above all else He came to them because He deeply desired to see them walk in the Freedom He has to offer. And only after all this was clearly communicated to the person, to the point of them wondering who Jesus could be, did He tell them repent of their sins.
So often, the first thing we want to do is tell people to repent. While their sin may be true, our love for them often isn’t, and we end up like clanging symbols doing more harm than good. We need to imitate Jesus – by walking as He did in the image and purpose God ordained for us. Others will see that and deeply desire the same. In this teaching, we will talk about how Jesus did it, our identity, and showing others theirs.
