I have read some comments lately (though this is far from a new topic!) soundly criticizing hypocritical attitudes within Christianity. While I am pretty sure it is inherent in all of us to hide our sin and weaknesses to promote our righteousness, I have a sense of unease about the strength of censorship some take towards the church and Christians.

There are several directions I could go with this topic–the obvious one being “judge not!” –It is much easier to examine the lives of others rather than our own motives and attitudes, however, the Holy Spirit has been speaking something else to my heart recently.

I find it very easy to get caught in the tailwind of Jesus’ words of confrontation in Matthew 23 that exposed the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees, without seeing the heart of the Savior.

I believe that Jesus came that they (we) might have life, and have it abundantly. The woman caught in adultery did not have abundant life by staying in adultery and the woman at the well had an unquenchable thirst that only God could satisfy. The crooked tax collector didn’t get more life by using extortion, and the Pharisees did not receive life by staying in ritualistic religion–Jesus did not confront to condemn, he confronted to give life!

It is so easy to associate the scripture in Matthew with Jesus’ relationship to the Pharisees that we overlook the fact that one of the most tender, most powerful, and most often quoted verses in the Bible was addressed to a Pharisee. Nicodemus came under the cover of darkness to seek the master, and Jesus met him there.

I don’t believe Jesus said, are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand? without opening Nicodemus’ understanding to his need and his heart to God’s love. Everything Jesus said leading up to John 3:16–For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life–was said with compassion, so that this man could receive the love of God, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17).