"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." Romans 6:17-18

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us...that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which believe in God might be careful to maintain good works." Titus 3:3-8

People notice us, it can be scary and we don’t have the luxury of being caught unawares in our everyday actions. We are slaves to righteousness, that is part of our Christ-like identity and when we weren’t slaves to God we were slaves to sin. Only by the grace of God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ were we saved. We acknowledge that even if we had coasted through this life living "good" lives (you know, not drinking, being nice, exercising moderation, etc...) but we didn’t acknowledge Jesus we would end up in the same place that the worst drug addict, murderer, or sexually promiscuous person would have and we would deserve it. Satan doesn’t care how much people realize they serve him, but God does. God makes it very clear how His followers are supposed to act and He forgives any sin as long as we repent. God doesn’t weigh actions, He weighs hearts. We have no right to mock anyone, to cast stones at them, because at one point or another we were the person on the ground and Jesus came, helped us up, and told us to "sin no more." The only measure we’re supposed to use evaluate is God’s measure and even then we are merely being mouthpieces for God. People who don’t know any better cast the stones to make themselves feel justified, we realize that nothing we do makes us justified, only Jesus’ blood. God has really shown me that faith and hope for people are not enough, I have to be a reflection of His love. The most intense experiences I’ve had with God are usually a result of me being so broken down that I cry out for nothing but His grace. There is a key difference between conviction and condemnation. We never have the right to condemn anyone because that would be us deciding their fate, deciding there is no hope for them whatsoever. Our job is to be filled with Christ’s love and preach His word and if that means convicting someone than so be it. Love is honest. Conviction should make someone reflect on their lives and lead to the need for repentance. Conviction is not the final verdict, condemnation is and that happens when someone stands before God. I ask myself whether I make people feel convicted or condemned, one shows the emptiness and consequences of a life without Jesus and the other makes me another person in the crowd throwing stones. I have been given a great gift, I am justified, saved, loved in a way that I never thought possible and my job when people approach me is to point right towards the cross and say ‘that is why and He is there for you too.’ I have been exalted, adopted as a child of God because I was humbled. God has lifted me up and I feel this indescribable desire to reach out to the people who don’t know true love, to have Jesus reach out through me so that people can know Him. It all starts with believing and understanding how God sees you, with and without Him, because apart from Him we are nothing. Love is honest and God is honest in His word and people need to know who to love. There is one God, one way to love Him, and one way to serve Him and He doesn’t hide that from anyone. With Him we are given salvation, a heavenly identity, and a divine purpose all because He loves us that much. Everyone is at a different point in their journey with Jesus, there are many paths to Jesus but once you get there you realize He is the only way to heaven.