Grace...is not a blue-eyed blonde!

I struggle with this. I must admit it. How do we really "hate sin...but love the sinner?" Then I read that we have all sinned...yet God loves us anyway. Really? How does that happen?

I am currently teaching a class on "Grace" using Phillip Yancey's book, "What's So Amazing About Grace." I must admit that this thing about "grace" really troubles me. I mean, can I really love people who are different? Can I really live in grace towards others? Do I?

I remember 35 years ago when I wasn't so "grace filled." I had a very hard, prejudiced, narrow view of divorce. Now, I still understand Jesus' words about divorce, and the Biblical perspective against it. But...I didn't deal with much grace when it came to loving people in these situations. I'm sorry to say I lost touch with a good friend because of my harsh dealings when he went through a divorce. Really, I did not act in much love...but boy, was I ever theologically correct. No matter...I did not function in grace.

Hopefully I, and much of the church, have learned to act with much more grace towards those who have struggled with divorce. As Phillip Yancey states, "Today a divorced person is not shunned, banned from churches, spit upon, screamed at. Even those who consider divorce a sin have come to accept the sinners and treat them with civility, and even love." He goes on to list other areas of life where we have learned to accept the person without approving of the behavior. I count myself among those today.

So, where is my struggle? Today's cultural "hot-button" is the homosexual issue. It divides our culture, and especially the church. Can Christians have firm views about ethical behavior, and yet still demonstrate love?

So, how do I come to accept, like Jesus, those whose behavior I view as sinful, yet treat them with civility and...gasp, even love? Can we learn to accept the person without approving of the behavior?

Look at Jesus, if you dare. He gained the reputation as being a "friend of sinners"...like the prostitute, a wealthy exploiter, a demon-possessed woman, a Roman soldier, a Samaritan with running sores, another Samaritan with serial husbands. How do I emulate that kind of behavior?

Can I see through the guilt-laden person to the person whom God loves? Can I honestly grieve over them because they are doing wrong? As Helmut Thielicke once wrote, "Jesus was able to love men because He loved them right through the layer of mud."

Can I? Well, I'm learning. Perhaps as I show the love of Jesus, even though I do not agree with a behavior, that person will be drawn by my love. My prayer is that God will help me love as never before. Is that possible? I'm finding out.