Challenges: Loving the Sinner

It's the hardest thing to do, for me at least. This whole "Love thy neighbor as you would love thyself" commandment from God. Which, by the way was told to us by Jesus Christ himself, is one of the two most important commandments given to us.
 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.- Matthew 22:40

How do you look at the person who just killed your family member, and not feel the anger? I'll probably never know. I am talking about the person who intended to kill, not the accidental circumstances.

My first thought is to kill that murderer instantly, and rid the world of his kind. Let them explain to God what they did. 

Yet murder is but an act of sin.

With all my heart I despise the very act. 

What about the other soul, the other person we are talking about here? You know, the murderer. How exactly are we to feel about them, when we isolate the sin from the sinner?

It is the same for every sinful situation we face in our daily lives. All who live in this life, live in sin. From the Gay couple in our neighborhood, to the man and woman living as husband and wife down the street, but are not married. To the accountant that is skimming off the books at his place of business.

As Christians we can not condone any sinful act. We can not support the existence of any sinful act.  We must however, understand that sin happens, everyday. In our lives as much as the lives of others. We are forgiven, so we must forgive.

Like it or not, the political endorsement of many of these sinful acts is going to happen. 1John Chapter 2 verse 16 says: 

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It's not our place to judge the sinner, for we have not been judged. However our faith judges the sin, and therefore can not condone it's existence.

Your challenge is to love the sinner, as God and his only begotten son love us. Forgiveness we must find in our hearts for the sinner, or our own soul is in jeopardy.

I would love to hear your comments on this matter.

God Bless