Jesus said to whom much is forgiven, the same loveth much. Luke 7:47, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” The sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, and dried His feet with her hair, had been forgiven of much. I have also been forgiven of much. Therefore, I love much. I need to stop expecting pastors to reciprocate my love, because they simply don't know how. Dear reader, no one can love you like God can. I love everyone. You either love everyone or you love no one!
It is a sad commentary on today's pathetic churches. People are so accustomed to going through the motions. People just don't matter anymore to churches. I make a big deal about the individual. Many churches couldn't care less about the one person, just so long as they have the ninety-nine. But our dear Lord Jesus Christ thought exactly the oppossite. Jesus left the ninety-nine sheep to go after that one wayward lamb. One thing that I learned a very long time ago as a child of God is that the INDIVIDUAL matters to God, not the group or crowd. Look at most churches today and you'll see that the group is all that matters. When an individual church member goes astray, the rest of the group kill him. The Christian army is the only army in the world that kills its wounded. That is a shame and a sin!
It is sad but true, that most pastors couldn't care less if an individual leaves their church and never comes back. That is not how our dear Lord Jesus thought about people. He went after the individual, that one wayward lamb. In fact, the individual (the one lamb) was more important to Christ while it was astray and in need. People matter to Christ, especially you dear friend if you have wandered away in your life. God cares about the INDIVIDUAL, not the group. God cares about each individual that makes up the group. That is not how most pastors think nowadays. They couldn't care less about the individual person, just so long as they have the favor of the group. That is a horrible attitude to have. You can tell if a pastor is truly right with God, when he cares about each and every individual person.
The biggest problem that I see in churches today is that they try to force people into a mold. Go to the average church and you won't be accepted into their community unless you dot your i's and cross your t's as they do. When someone comes along who is different, the church rejects and shuns them away. The Bible calls that the sin of respecting persons. James 2:1, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” I fully agree with Pastor Jeff Owens who preached this great sermon: “The Unrighteous Are Welcome Here!”
The Apostle Paul realized as he grew in the Lord, when he became lonely, that most people couldn't reciprocate the depth of love and concern that he had for them. I know exactly how Paul felt. The more that you grow in love toward others, the lonelier you will become when people cannot return that love. 2nd Corinthians 12:15, “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”
