It’s interesting to think about the people Jesus helped and pursued. Zacchaeus stole money from people which is why no one liked him. But his desire to see Jesus changed his life.
In John 8, the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. (How do you catch someone in adultery? It wasn’t because they found text messages on her stone tablet.) This woman was either married to another man, or the man was married to another woman or I suppose neither of them were married. But any way you slice it, she acted against the law of Moses (and so did the man she was with).
Jesus’ focus wasn’t on the actions of the person, it was on the motives behind the actions. Actions are based off of belief. And when your beliefs are based off of bad information you produce fruit in keeping with the quality of your beliefs.
All you know, is all you know. And if all you know sucks, then all you know sucks. It’s beautiful and necessary to think like Jesus thinks. What someone says and does is a byproduct of their past experiences and knowledge. It can be easy to get offended by what someone says and does. But one who is not easily offended can see past the act or word and see the heart. When you can overlook the symptom to find the source you can actually affect change.
Isaiah 61:1-3
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
Jesus came for the jacked up, broke down, beat down, can’t seem to get it right kind of people.