Those People

We all have "those people" in our lives.

And, actually, most people have several different "those people".
Society pushes us to put people into categories: those poor people, those rich people, those mean people, those nice people, those pagan people, those Christian people, those ethnic people, those druggie people, those good people, those bad people, those gay people, those straight people...the list goes on and on. Opposite from society, Jesus pushes us toward seeing people as just one group of people: those people in need of a savior. That's what category we all fall in under his guidelines. Our category doesn't change when we get saved, because we still need him! The only thing that changes is that we acknowledge that we fall into that category and we look to him to ultimately one day bring us into our new category, which will be "those people who Jesus redeemed to a new body."
Jesus opened my eyes a few years ago to just what a labeler of people I was am (it's a daily struggle!). We automatically categorize people.  Even at the beginning of the world, the first people did this! They labeled each other, and looked down on others. They were horrible to each other. It's part of our depraved nature to look down on others, to judge them, to label them as beneath us, because it makes us feel better about ourselves.  It goes against everything in us to see everyone on an equal plain, and is especially difficult to see ourselves as WORSE than others. But that's what the Apostle Paul did...he said he was the chief of sinners! (I Timothy 1:18) I believe he was so able to offer grace to all those around him because he truly saw himself as one in need of the most grace. Those people around him just became people whom he wanted to also experience that same grace.
A lot of times, in my own life, I find I clump "those people" into that category the most because of lack of exposure. I feel uncomfortable because I only know what I've heard, or seen on TV. I let other people dictate the way I perceive certain groups of people. With a heavy heart, I have lately noticed that there is outright hatred in some Christian peoples' voices when they speak about certain of "those people."  This ought not to be. I know so many of us would disagree that we are ever guilty of this. Or we would justify our behavior by stating what "those people" do, or feel, or say, about us. But at the end of the day, we are know as Jesus' followers by how we love people. Not only good people, or nice people...but most definitely how we love the people who hate us. How can we possibly change the world if we snarl our noses at those people who need His grace? What if someone had snarled their nose at us, and considered us one of "those people" who were unredemptive, who were outside the reach of God's grace?
My challenge is this: honestly look in your heart and ask yourself ...If you were to be face to face with one of "those people" today, could you love them? Could you spend time with them? Could you feel compassion for them? Why not? Do you find yourself clumping all sorts people into one category? For instance, thinking all Transgender people are horrible people, or are pedophiles and sex addicts? Thinking all Gay people are gross? Thinking all people with piercings and tatoos probably are drug addicts who just got out of jail? Thinking all black people are thugs? Thinking all Muslims hate Americans? It's when we let ourselves get stuck in "those people ALL" way of thinking that we stop seeing people as individuals.  We don't offere grace, and we don't care, and we fear, and we hate. I challenge you to spend some time with "those people", whoever they are in your life.
Jesus commanded us in John 13:34 & 35 that we are to love others just as He has loved us. He loved me when I didn't love him, when I hated him, when I was dirty and unworthy. He spent time wooing me to him. In verse 35 of John 13, Jesus says "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if have love for one another."
So, don't avoid "those people". Go love 'em! That love is what draws those people in. It's what they need the most. It shows them who God is. It helps them become "HIS PEOPLE".