I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. John‬ ‭12‬:‭47‬

I have a confession to make. Sometimes I have a hard time telling people that I am a Christian. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Jesus with all my heart. I believe him to be the Messiah, the son of the living God. I believe in his death, resurrection and that he is coming again. I believe that he has forgiven all of my sins past present and future. I believe the Bible to be the written, inspired and inerrant word of God.

So why do I sometimes hesitate to tell people I’m a Christian you ask? Because people naturally tend to label each other according to their beliefs, opinions or actions.

Humanity is, by nature, a very judgmental people. We tend to label people by their lifestyle, their political opinions, the political party they belong to, the version of the Bible they read, and the church they attend among many other things.

It’s sad to say, but many times we label people according to their sin. We may say, he’s an addict. We don’t say that he has a problem with addiction. It may sound the same, but the attitude is different.

I could go on about the many other ways that we put labels on people. Labeling people is really just a form of judgment.

It’s interesting, that Jesus says He doesn’t judge those who disobey him. While we tend to judge people if they disobey God, or if they hurt us. Jesus doesn’t. Jesus doesn’t label people!

He did not come to judge people. He came to show people life. He came to show them a better way. He came to be their light in the darkness.

One time after saying grace before our meal at a fast food restaurant, we were approached by a homeless man. I have to admit, I was very judgmental. I was angry. I wanted to have a quiet meal with my family, not be asked for money by a homeless vagrant.

I know, terrible of me, right? But it gets worse. He came up to me and told me how happy he was to see someone thanking Jesus for their food before eating in public.

He struggled with addiction. He struggled with mental illness. Yet in that short time, he let us know he loved Jesus.

So, who have you judged lately? What labels do you put on those people that are different than you? Are they the labels that Jesus would put on them? Are they labels of love or are they labels of judgment? He calls us to love all people regardless of their struggles.