Have you ever felt incredibly convicted about something that it seems like no one else is bothered about? It happens to me all the time, and to be honest it is sometimes frustrating. For example, it is absolutely impossible for me to leave a grocery cart sitting in a random spot in a parking lot. Even if it is blowing snow and miserable, I feel such an extreme conviction come over me if I even attempt to not put it away.  I also have a very hard time watching someone else work, without feeling like I need to help.

Now, when I was growing up, I was pretty harsh in my view of others. I assumed if I felt convicted about something, that everyone else should too. However, as I have grown and matured in my faith, I have learned that unlike me, God is not a harsh taskmaster. As a matter of fact, He is extremely gentle in the way He trains and teaches us.  Over the last few months, I have spent quite a bit of time reading all 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and I have noticed several things about Jesus. Two things in particular turn the legalism of my youth on its head.

The first thing I noticed was how much Jesus despised the legalism of the so-called religious people. It’s a little startling to a rule-follower like myself to see Jesus confront the Pharisees the way that he so often does.  Now, Jesus never tells them that their rules are wrong. He does however always focus on relationships above rules. I think of the woman at the well (see John 4). She was definitely living in sin, but rather than avoid her or simply point out her faults and make her feel like trash, he simply cared for her and welcomed her into a relationship with him, all while never once having to tell her that living in sin was ok. He did that time and time again. He welcomed in people of every walk of life; prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, just to name a few. That’s something we could all do a better job of.

The second thing I noticed is that Jesus never tries to change anyone. He simply loves them exactly where they are. That love is what transforms them. Zacchaeus was a corrupt tax collector (see luke 19). However, Jesus chose to spend time with him, regardless of how much the religious leaders criticized Him for it. Just in spending time in the presence of Jesus, Zacchaeus completely changed his ways. Jesus never gave him a list of things he had to do, rather he came to those conclusions on his own.

Spending time with Jesus has a way of changing us in the most gentle way. That change starts internally through the Holy Spirit. As we grow and mature in our faith, the Holy Spirit guides our desires and convicts us about things we need to change. Unlike the way many of us treat each other (myself included), the Holy Spirit doesn’t try to change everything about us all at once. We are a work in progress and at the proper times, the Holy Spirit convicts us and guides us in how to become more Christ-like. We just have to learn how to let Him do work in others (instead of us forcing changes) and allow Him to do work in us that needs to be done.