Jesus - our First Love

Jesus - "Un-self "- He is "n self ish" everything in this world. He is opposite of all that the world is. He loves the sinner, the murderer, all the worst scum of the earth, he loves them too. 

Jesus loved them all, the sinners, the publicans, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, you name it, in the world's eyes ...these people today would make up the scum of the earth. Yet He loved them just as much, as he loved Luke the doctor.. Have we forgotten where we have come from. Okay, we may smell better, but that is only because of our Holy Spirit scent and perfume on us, not cause we did anything to deserve this cleansing, by grace were we saved, and receive anything from Him.. We can't work at it, we can't spout off the right scriptures, we can't do a certain amount of hours in mission work to earn it. It is nothing you have earned this grace, nor is something you deserve. No, on both those point. 


He waits for us to come back home, one of the lost sheep, like the protigal son, many of us, have lost our way in the shuffle of life. He waits at the door for us, crying out to us, in a silent manner. You might not even know He is there if you aren't listening for his voice. But He waits for you, oh so silently. To come to Him, and repent, and ask Him to wash over you with his blood. He is so patient, He waits tears sometimes rolling down his face, crying for each one of us, for we have lost our way, strayed away, tricked by the enemy and lured into the self righteousness of our hearts, where the walls are so thick of stone, you cannot hear his calls. Others may have been lured away by the cares of the world, like Martha, so busy, with the things of ministry, they have lost their first love, and have strayed away from the flock. Others may have been lured away with the sins of the world, the slime and filth that so easily besets us. Yet our Shepherd, still waits as the great shepherd, waiting and looking for the lost sheep, which may have strayed to far, or lost his way, the Shepherd waits for his sheep, no matter, how lost, how awfully dirty that lost sheep has gotten rolling around in the filthy cesspools of the world. The great Shepherd waits to wash him off, cleanse him, and love him again, when he returns to the flock. 

And yet, the Shepherd loves each one of us, even the ones who killed him, cause he understood the enemy's devices, and He forgave even the ones who killed Him, because they didn't know what they were doing. Our example to the lost sheep is set by the Great Shepherd Himself, the pastor of the sheep, who looks not at our dirty filthy mud covered bodies, he sees beyond all the filth, the muck and mire that may even cover our hearts. He sees a child in there, a child of the king, who may have lost his way, or never known the way to the Father's heart. He sees what will be after He washes us afresh with his water and cleanses us with his blood of the filth that maybe be covering us at the time. He sees a lost sheep and the Shepherd loves his sheep more than anything, He would lose his life to save his sheep, and He did just that. The Great Shepherd gave his life to save you and me from total destruction. The purest lamb of God, gave himself, as the ultimate sacrifice for us, the filthy dirt of the world, even the ones who spat on Him and still do, He still loves those as much as the most pure hearted ones. He sees not what man sees which is what is on the outside, but He sees what is in the heart of a man. He works from the inside out. What greater example to have, but that of the Great Shepherd, who does not see the sins of a man, but sees what's inside that man. 

Let us follow his example. The times are evil before us, many rear up against us, the enemy is all around us trying to defeat us, in every way. Yet, let us not forget the example of the Great Shepherd, the one who is the pastor of all pastors, the one who died for each one of us. 


Woe to us, if we were turn away the next Apostle Paul, because he had been murdering us...Would our hearts have been so open to Paul? Most cringe now, and frown on the ones left fortunate, who may be living in the street. let alone a mass murderer. Look at this example. Paul the one given the greatest revelation to the church ever, Ephesians, entrusted with the greatest revelation, was a mass murderer of Christians, no less. 


He cries unto to us, love them all, I loved you didn't I, you were no better than them. So He calls out to our heart with compassion to hear his cries of love, take may sheep and feed them. Love them all.  They are mine, and you are mine, and you are the ones who I have called out in this day to speak to the sheep. Go to the streets, go and speak to the ones in the gutter, love them, take them into your houses, feed them if they are hungry, don't hold back my love from the ones in the street, they are mine too. That is what I hear from the voice of Jesus today, He is calling out the pastors, the ones who he has chosen to speak for Him, to remember to speak out of his love, out of his words, reach out to the ones he brings to you, and hold not back your hand of blessing from them, even if you don't have a dime, give the words of life to them, as Paul did. Amen...to that...
 

Gloria Shepherd - 1999