Love Instead of Ridicule

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." – Romans 14:19

When you look at how Jesus handled people, you see a pattern. He did not constantly remind them of their failures. He did not rehearse their mistakes. He did not shame them for how they ended up where they were. Instead, He offered grace, truth, and restoration. Whether it was the woman caught in adultery, the tax collector in a tree, or the disciple who denied Him three times, Jesus met people where they were and pointed them forward.
 
That should challenge us deeply. Because the temptation for many believers is to judge before we lift, to criticize before we care, and to remind people of their past before we ever point them toward their future. But Jesus did not treat you that way, and He does not call you to treat others that way either.
 
The church is at its best when it looks like Jesus. Not a museum for perfect people, but a hospital for the hurting. Not a place to keep score, but a place to help people start over. If God wanted to tally every wrong, none of us would stand. Yet He rescues, forgives, and restores us anyway. That is the model we are called to follow.
 
Think of the people around you who may be struggling right now. They do not need another critic. They do not need another voice of condemnation. They need someone to come alongside them, to see the potential inside them, and to remind them that grace is still available. They need someone to point them to Jesus.
 
You cannot control how others act, but you can decide how you respond. Will you be an agent of restoration or an agent of judgment? Will you throw stones or offer a hand? The world already has enough ridicule. What it needs is a church that loves like Christ loved, showing compassion where there once was criticism and helping people rise where they have fallen.
 
The same grace that rescued you is the grace that wants to flow through you. Choose today to be an agent of restoration. To love instead of ridicule. To lift instead of shame. To restore instead of reject. That is the way of Jesus.