One afternoon, a young man showed up on my doorstep, offering me the opportunity to buy some magazines and thus support his education.  We spoke for a while, and finally broached the obvious subject.  You see, he’s gay, and I’m a conservative christian.  While his persona was easily noticeable, mine came as a bit of a shock.

He went on to explain that his mother, a professed christian, had wished upon him the disease of AIDS, so that she might be his nursemaid and hopefully win him to Christ.  Until that point, said she, there was no room for him in her world.

My heart broke, as does the heart of Jesus every time we defame Him and crush those He died to save.  If you recall, He was accused of being a glutton and drunkard, because He chose to attend dinners and parties with those the religious-minded disdained.

All have sinned – every one of us has fallen far short of the perfect standard.   This is why we all need the grace offered – and why, if we’re to be Christ’s representatives, we need to just as freely offer His grace to others – all others.

How, really, can we expect to lead people to Christ, if we refuse to speak to them, spend time with them, get to know them?  How can we lift Him up so that He can draw others to Himself if we are busy making sure the two never meet? How can they get to know the wonder of His presence in a life if we refuse to let them get to know us?

How can we expect them to want to spend eternity with us, if we refuse to spend any time with them on earth??