No Trespassers

And the sign says "Anybody caught trespassing will be shot on sight"
So I jumped the fence and I yelled at the house, Hey! What gives you the right
To put up a fence And keep me out Or to keep Mother Nature in
If God was here He'd tell it to your face Man You're some kind of sinner
By the Five Man Electrical Band

Yesterday I was singing along to this song as I drove to school And I started thinking about all the ways people try to separate others from God.

Separation from God is sin, plain and simple and yet some religious people seem to look for ways that others are not good enough for God. People who are different are like trespassers to them. It's sad, really. While I know that God wants what is best for all of us, Jesus was pretty clear he did not want us to be judgemental. That whole, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" thing is pretty clear.

A colleague of the Husband's at Seminary once said something like he would rather stand before the Lord and have to explain why he welcomed someone in than to have to explain why he kept one of God's children out.

Jesus ate with all sorts of people. The pharisees were busy judging who was good enough. Jesus healed people, even on the Sabbath. The pharisees were so busy being "Bertha better than you" that they lost compassion for their fellow man if it wasn't the "proper" time.

Jesus was pretty radical. He might have turned over the tables of the cheating money-changers in the Temple, but overall, he was accepting. Jesus wasn't worried about what looked right or who had the best image. He wasn't looking at labels and making "Keep Out" signs.

Jesus showed love and compassion, he ate and drank with outcasts because they wanted to be with him. Perhaps that should be the litmus test.

I think if Jesus were to make a sign, it would say, "God-lovers welcome." With no fine print.

-Peace