Saved for Freedom - Free to Save

“Let our hearts be led by mercy.

Help us reach with open hearts and open doors.

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners,

Break our hearts for what breaks Yours.”

-Casting Crowns “Jesus Friend of Sinners.”

Okay. So we’re free. But that fact alone doesn’t matter quite as much as what we’re going to do with it does.

Are we going to use our freedom to lean further into the world or to draw closer to the Father?

Are we going to sit on it . . . or are we going to share it with as many people as we can?

Jesus lived His whole life to model for us how we are to live ours. We are to care for others, freely forgive, and put God first in all things.

So what does it mean to call Jesus a friend of sinners? In today’s world—and probably in the ancient world too—it’s all too easy to find yourself more drawn to the person with their sin quietly covered and polished pretty than it is to the person openly living in it.

It’s easy to forget that all sin is sin (James 2:10).

In fact, I can’t find a single scripture to suggest we distance ourselves from those clearly struggling in their sin. But I’ll tell you what I did find.

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you may also be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:1

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8

John 7:24 tells us to stop judging by mere appearances (that is, actions and mistakes, not solely looks), but instead judge righteously.

Jesus modeled this in John 4 with the woman at the well. He saw her. Like, really saw her. He knew she was a Samaritan. He knew she had been married several times before and was currently in an unwed relationship with another man.

He saw her sin and chose to sit with her anyway, not to join her, but to invite her to join Him, to partake of the Living Water only He could offer.

"You love every lost cause.

You reach for the outcast.

For the leper and the lame,

They're the reason that You came."

-Casting Crowns "Jesus Friend of Sinners."

Friends, we have to adjust our vision. Yes, the sin is on the outside, but on the inside is the sinner, the person, and we are commanded to love them.

Love covers all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12)

Goodness [love] overcomes evil (Romans 12:21)

Faith, hope, and love are permanent virtues, but the greatest of these is love—because love is the eternal character of God.

I’ve often heard it said to replace “love” in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 with “God” or “Jesus.” Try it, and you’ll see.

God is love. And loving people is how we bring God to them.

If we so choose . . .

We are free.

Free to know Christ as our Savior.

Free to choose who or what we wish to serve.

Free to fail and come back again.

And free to allow people to see Christ in us.

To quote Allen Levi’s main character Theo from the beloved book, Theo of Golden, “For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it . . . Nothing is what it is supposed to be if love is not at the core.”

Let’s word swap.

“For anything to be truly good, there must be Jesus in it. Nothing is what it is supposed to be if Jesus is not at the core.”

Our salvation . . . it wasn’t meant for us to freely receive then sit on.

It's meant to be shared.

Sisters and brothers, we are free with purpose. And that purpose is to love, save, and lead others.

Because until Jesus returns, He’s always going to be looking for one more. The question is, since we are meant to be His hands and feet, are we looking?

It’s not about us—it’s about who’s next.

We have been gifted freedom. So let’s take that freedom and live in such a way that others can see, hear, and feel salvation calling them.