Heartbreak

For centuries Christians have been at the epicenter of pain, from before the Crusades to someone carelessly flinging a judgemental word at their neighbor today.

As I grow in my faith, more and more I hear stories about so-called 'followers' of Christ causing more pain and heartache than I can possibly imagine, much of this through the rejection of someone.
Frankly, there are too many verses to quote from the Bible about loving one's neighbor etc. to do it proper justice. And yet I hear about a priest sending anonymous death threats to one of his young parishioners who just declared his homosexuality to his family and friends; a church cutting off a family member, a fellow child of God, who committed adultery; a girl that carries a past filled with misguided beliefs and dark ritual hearing slanderous rumors created about herself by those she thought her friends.

So much pain. If I feel like this when I hear about these sorts of things, I can't begin to imagine how God must feel.

I have so many questions for these people. Why do you feel they are not worthy of your love if they are worthy of the love of God? What gives us the right to judge them if one deems them 'unworthy' of God's love? The Bible commands us not to judge others. Possibly one of my favorite parts in the Bible is of the woman who was to be stoned for adultery, Jesus halts her persecutors who came in the name of the law by asking them "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." No-one threw one measly pebble at the woman.

Everyone sins, no sin is worse than another in the eyes of God. Sounds scandalous? Not really, it's because He doesn't care.

God came down in the form of man and Jesus and died on the cross for all of us, not just the ones who go to church on Sunday, not just the ones who go to a certain kind of church, not just the ones who met their conversion quota for the week, but every single last person who has and who ever will exist. It doesn't matter how much someone has 'sinned', He loves every single one of us regardless of what we have done or will do.

I ask again, who are we to deny someone love? It's not as though that will keep God from loving them, but it will certainly hurt Him when we do not demonstrate love the way He intended. It was God that gave us the ability to love in the first place.

No-one is unworthy, no-one is not deserving. Please love.

Twisted?

I came to an odd realization today. Whenever I see someone close to me hurting I'll often daydream about trying to alleviate thier pain in some way, but it is always with my death.

Now, as a Christian I wonder is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it a good thing that I would so willingly give up my own life to make someone happy, or am I insane? It's not as though I jump to the thought of dying immediately, but when I feel like there's nothing left for me to do it's what my mind seems to find as an answer.
It made me wonder if this is what God did for all of us when Jesus died on the cross. There wasn't any other way, so he died to save us. I'm not saying that I'm Him or anything, but isn't to be more like Him what all of His followers wish for? If I had the chance I would certainly die to save any person I know or to heal thier pain.

Or am I just twisted?