Once upon a time there were two men, one was a 30 year old man from the country who beat up his neighbor then went out to a bar got drunk and slept with a married woman. He got arrested for DWI and thrown into jail for a year.

He is somewhat racist, and doesn’t care, he is poor and he cares only about himself.

The other guy is a 30 year old from the big city. He divorced his wife at age 29, became openly gay, has many changing boyfriends. He goes from relationship to relationship, abusing people, he is rich and he cares only about himself.

These men vote opposite to one another, the first votes on the right party line, the second votes left in all elections. They hate one another and think the other is despicable.

The reaction of the Lord to both of these men is the same. He does not applaud either’s unique sin, neither is he surprised or mad at them for them. He has already killed the sin nature that controls these men in his own body. The wrath and justice of God for their sin was already concentrated on Jesus Christ as he died. They could be free of their unique sins and selfishness and hatred if they were to find their new life by and through Jesus Christ.

We as the children of Jesus who take the nature of Jesus, who live the very life of Jesus. Can and should react the same way to both of these men.

Not applaud certain sins to prove something, and to not hate on different sins to prove something else. The Pharisee in Jesus story about repentance hated certain sins and he overlooked other sins. He was very selective in his disgust of sin.

But to God both are the same men, both are the same sin.

Both are “the world” that he loved so much and he lost his son for.