Your sins are none of my business.

So, I'm thinking. It's dangerous.

"Why don't you speak more plainly?" we ask. Would it really do us any good if he [God] were to speak more plainly? He has already said much more than most of us want to hear. He commands us very plainly to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:27-8). What wants to hear these things, let alone obey them? The church can't even stop cursing those who curse us, much less bless them. Why should God speak more plainly to people who ignore his clearest commands? Why would he unlock the secrets of his kingdom to a church that seems bent on mutual destruction?
(From Surprised by the Voice of God, 330)

I was reading this, and it occurred to me that the idea of loving those who hate us, etc. is a pretty foreign concept. It isn't for lack of good intentions, I am sure. I've heard all my life that we are to love the sinner and hate the sin. I will agree with this in theory. However, when we associate the sin with the sinner specifically, I am not so sure that this is possible. For instance, I have heard stories innumerable of this person or that who has started attending church. He was an alcoholic, she has three kids and no marriage licenses, and the list goes on. When we define people with their sins, it is very easy to miss the people altogether. It is also easy (seductively so) to fall into gossip this way, too.

Furthermore, (and this is the real revelation) people's sins are not our concern. If it is the calling of the Holy Spirit that convicts, and the redemption of Christ that makes us into new creations, then what is the job of the already redeemed? As I can see it, we are here being made more like Christ as we grow in him, and we are to share the stories that we have. God has rescued me from _____ and he is redeeming me from _____. Because of what he has done, now I am _____. Notice how the focus is shifted from "You know, the Bible says that _____ is a sin, and you'd be much happier if you'd give that over to the Lord." (Not to mention that the felt-need gospel is shallow to begin with...) When we invite others into the story that has already begun, we are inviting them into the broader story of what he is doing. When we focus on what God is doing, and not on what sins others are committing, we are working toward bringing heaven on earth.

Isn't that what we've been praying for for thousands of years?

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..."

T