Are We a Light to the World?

There's a new movie called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, centered around a local church's Christmas play that gets hijacked by "the worst kids in the world" (and I'll try to keep spoilers out, this was all in the trailer). They're known by everyone around for being nothing but trouble, as they start fires, cuss out teachers, steal things regularly, and so much more. Then, they decide to take the starring roles in the Christmas pageant, and none of the other kids are willing to volunteer for the roles out of fear. But the tragic part of it all, at least to me, wasn't the troublesome children being in this renowned church play, wasn't even the fear the other kids lived in, but it was the way the grownups talked about these children. The adults at church scolded and ridiculed the volunteer in charge for allowing the children in the play and tried forcing her to remove the children from the program. They assumed the worst of the children and said horrible things about them, without any regard for the children's feelings. They acted exactly like the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were the religious leaders in Israel during Jesus's lifetime. They taught the people and were highly regarded, and they wanted to keep it that way. They became jealous of the crowds Jesus attracted and the way people talked about him and his teachings, becoming so jealous that they wanted, and tried, to kill him (and eventually succeeded). These Pharisees would talk down about Jesus and his disciples, ask questions to try trapping Jesus in his words, and made absurd claims about him like "he has a demon" and "he is a drunkard" because they refused to see what he was actually doing. There's no justifying that this was a good or correct response to Jesus, but they justified it all anyways. The same thing happened with the church leaders in the community in this movie (admittedly, they had more justified reasons for what they said about the children in the movie, but that doesn't make it right). As Christians, we're supposed to be like Jesus—kind, loving, and full of compassion especially for those who need it most—but many of the church-going adults in this movie were the opposite! So, some of their children were too. And sadly, I've seen examples of this kind of individual in pretty much every church I've attended. There's always someone who's more willing to push away the people who need Jesus for the sake of upholding a special tradition within the church. It's hard to see, but I'm grateful this movie called it out. 

As Christians, we have the potential to make a massive difference in the lives of those around us, but too many believers don't even let their own kids around the trouble children because of their "bad influence". Yet Jesus spent time around bad influences, and then changed their lives for the better. I'm not saying we should encourage ONLY being around people who are bad influences, because there's absolutely a need for godly community and building one another up as Christians, but we shouldn't kick the trouble kids out just because of their reputation. If Jesus rejected all the people who were considered problematic, then we wouldn't have stories of the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery, wouldn't know about the Mary who'd had several demons or the Matthew who was a tax collector (and he wrote one of the gospels!), and probably wouldn't have most if any of the New Testament! A lot of the people Jesus went to were those society had already given up on or rejected. He healed lepers who everyone else was afraid to touch. He respected women who were abandoned and men who were deemed "the worst" (like, you know, tax collectors). He visited and taught in Samaria, which most Jews would blatantly travel around because they were so adamant to NOT interact with Samaritans. There was a lot of bias, divide, and hatred towards individuals and groups in Jesus's time (sound familiar?), but he went against the grain and loved those whom everyone around him hated. We're called to live like Jesus, but do we do the same? 

I'm thinking most if not all of us have some work to do in that area. I'm guilty of it, because I don't often go out of my way to reach those whom Jesus would've. Sure, I spend a lot of time around other Christians, but if we only spend time with other Christians, then we're not being a light to the world. If we only care about making sure things are going the "right" way within our church buildings, what difference are we making? We need to be ready and willing to welcome in with open arms the people who need loved on the most, like "the worst kids in the world". Maybe being willing to show love and respect to them will lead to some surprising and beautiful changes happening in the name of Jesus. The changes may be uncomfortable, they may go against the way we've always done things, but they may be just what we need to reach more people in the name of Jesus.

Pondering all of this has convicted me to think about the ways I could better love like Jesus to the outcasts, the unloved, and the "worst kids". How about you?