Jesus Loves Me

 

Jesus Loves Me.

The song that every Christian heard as a child. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re Protestant or Catholic (yes, we were Christians too), you can hear this song in your memory. 

You know that Jesus loves you because the bible tells you so.  Seems pretty straight forward, right?  I don’t remember “Jesus loves me if…” or “Jesus can’t love me when…”  Did I miss an extra verse?

Or is it that “Jesus loves me” is the statement?  Full stop. 

I lean in this direction, and I would say that many of my Christian brothers and sisters do as well.

Why then do we try to put limits on the love of Jesus?  Why do we try to twist words from 4000 years ago to fit people of today?  Why do we try to take the words of a man who never met an earthly Jesus, as the full truth and a reason to exclude?

What baffles me even more is when otherwise loving people, can’t see past their own interpretations of these words to see the people in their lives.  People like that neighbour you talk to every morning.  The person serving you breakfast at the diner.  Or even, your own child. 

They believe they’re showing the love of Jesus through condemnation and dismissal of who a person was made to be.  Telling LGBTQ+ folks that they are sinners, and they need to repent and ask forgiveness.  Dismissing gender dysphoria and refusing to acknowledge their friends or family in the manner that person has requested.

I’ve seen how children are treated when they come out in both secular and religious spaces.  I’ve seen adult children struggle daily because parents still refuse to see them.   I’ve seen it in workplaces, in churches and in homes. 

When I see this disregard for other people; especially in a family setting, I struggle with what emotion is proper.  I’m deeply saddened for the individual who is struggling to be seen by those that they love but I’m also angry with those who refuse to see them.  I want to physically shake people sometimes who don’t seem to want to try, and I’ve thought about flying halfway across a continent to be with people in need.

The more I see today from Christians, the more I wonder if Jesus would recognize the people who claim to be his followers. 

Y’all are praying “come soon Lord Jesus” but if he comes tomorrow, I honestly think he’ll be appalled at how we’re treating folks that were made in his image. 

 Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

 Let’s focus on the love and work to be there for our friends and family who are struggling.  I’m fairly confident that is what Jesus would want us to do.