Tolerance (Part II)

Jesus did not come to the world to tolerate people but to set them free! He ate with tax collectors, was a friend to the sinners, and taught the religious. In all His interactions, He never compromised His mission. He did not give false comfort to the tax collector, the sinner, or the religious. If He had  just tolerated them, they would have remained comfortable in their state with no need of repentance. 

Jesus came to show the world that all their physical, emotional, and mental issues stemmed from the root of sin. Their separation from God had made them lame, blind, and rejected in a world that is alien to God’s truth. He put His finger right on their need and showed them that their hunger and thirst was for a relationship with God. He came to show humanity that this relationship was so important that He was willing to go to the cross, in order for people to be reconciled and restored to God.

The picture is from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/grace-and-truth-go-hand-in-hand

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Jesus dwelt among us with fullness of truth and grace. Truth and grace are a beautiful balance of God’s love and His judgment evidenced by the cross. God loved us so much that He desired to save us from the sinful state and bring us back to a relationship with Him. Tolerance would have kept us at a distance from God with no hope of reconciliation only judgment at the end. Tolerance cannot erase truth but it can only avoid the issue for a time period.

Tolerance is like taking Tylenol for a headache but never addressing what is causing the headache in the first place. One may get away with it for while, but with more serious issues, the root cause need to be addressed. In those situations, Tylenol will only be masking the problem, and it is not a loving way to deal with the pain. People demand change of laws to institute tolerance. Sometimes the laws need to change in order to protect people, but the laws do not take way the root causes of sin, false identity, hatred, and prejudice. 

Our faith is not meant to be downgraded to “tolerance”! The Lord has commissioned us to reach the lost and those in bondage. In order to truly reach them, they need to know their true condition before God, so they can be changed. If we are going to be effective, we cannot shy away from graciously telling people the truth. If they don’t know their true condition and God’s solution for it, how will they ever change?