Who We Ignore (And Why It Matters)

If we're honest, most of us have categories of people we naturally avoid.

We may never say it out loud. In fact, we'd probably deny it if someone accused us of it. But deep down, many of us have "those people."

The addict.

The prisoner.

The gang member.

The person with a criminal record.

The homeless man on the corner.

The person who seems too far gone.

The person who has made too many mistakes.

The person who doesn't look, act, vote, speak, or love like us.

And somewhere along the way, we subtly decide they aren't worth our time. Not necessarily because we hate them. But because we've stopped believing they're worth the effort.

The problem is that when I read the Gospels, I see Jesus moving toward those people... not away from them.

Jesus Had a Different Guest List

One of the things that stands out about Jesus is the company He kept. Religious leaders constantly criticized Him for it.

He spent time with tax collectors.

He ate with sinners.

He spoke with outcasts.

He touched lepers.

He defended people others wanted to condemn.

The people who seemed most comfortable around Jesus were often the very people the religious crowd wanted to avoid.

Think about that for a moment.

Jesus had every right to surround Himself with the most respected, polished, religious people in society. Instead, He intentionally moved toward the broken.

Not because He approved of sin. 

But because He loved people.

Somewhere along the way, many Christians began expecting lost people to act found before they were ever introduced to Jesus.

But that's not how Jesus operated.

The Gospel Was Never Reserved for Good People

The truth is that none of us deserved the Gospel.

Not one of us.

The difference between us and the person sitting in a prison cell is not that one of us needs grace and the other doesn't.

We both need grace.

Some sins simply carry consequences that are more visible than others.

It's easy to point to someone else's failures while forgetting our own.

The Gospel isn't a reward for good behavior. It's an invitation to redemption.

If God only pursued people who deserved it, none of us would be saved.

The People We Avoid Are the People God Is Pursuing

I've spent time with men in prison.

I've heard their stories.

I've listened to regrets, failures, poor decisions, broken relationships, and painful histories.

And while many have done terrible things, I've also learned something important:

Most people are more than the worst thing they've ever done.

When society labels someone, it often stops seeing them as a person.

They become "the inmate."

"The felon."

"The addict."

"The criminal."

But God sees something different. He sees a person made in His image. A person Christ died for. A person with a story. A person with a soul. A person who is still capable of redemption.

If we're not careful, we can become so focused on what people have done that we forget who they are.

Can We Pick and Choose Our Mission Field?

One of the dangers facing the modern church is the temptation to focus on people who are easy to reach.

People who look like us. Think like us. Live near us. Vote like us. Love like us. Attend our events.

But Jesus didn't limit His ministry to comfortable places and comfortable people.

Neither should we.

The Gospel doesn't belong exclusively in church buildings.

It belongs in prisons. It belongs in recovery centers. It belongs in homeless shelters. It belongs in broken homes. It belongs anywhere people need hope.

Which is to say... it belongs everywhere.

A Final Thought

I sometimes wonder if the people we write off today are the very people Jesus would be spending time with if He walked our streets.

Not because He ignored sin.

Not because He lowered His standards.

But because He understood something we often forget:

People are not projects.

People are not labels.

People are not their worst moments.

They are human beings loved by God.

The Gospel has always been a message of hope for people who don't have their lives together.

That's why it's called grace.

And if grace was big enough for me, it has to be big enough for "those people" too.

Because the truth is, before Jesus found us, every one of us was one of "those people."