It is common for us to strive for perfection. Whether it be our looks, our grades or the people that we hang around with, we crave perfection. We want those around us to take one glance at us and think that we have it all together. Our lifestyles and social media accounts give us away, revealing our not-so-secret desire of faultlessness.

There is one major flaw in our thinking, however. We will never reach perfection on this side of heaven. The world is a corrupt and widely imperfect environment which we inhabit, therefore making us just the same.

While we chase fleeting perfection, we forget that Jesus did not come for those who had it all together. In fact, he came for quite the opposite. Mark 2:17 says, “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

You and I get caught up in looking the part: a well put together, scripture reciting, Bible believer. But, in the midst of all of our relentless striving, we forget that Jesus loves the broken, the lost, the hurting. We should, too.

I don’t know where this lie began, but somewhere between the creation of the world and today, we began to believe the lie that people who are different than we are aren’t good and we shouldn’t associate with them. If you are a popular rich kid, you don’t hang out with the street kids. If you’re a street kid, you don’t want anything to do with the popular rich guy. Why is that?

Since we want others to look at us and think the very best, we fear associating with those who aren’t like us. Interestingly enough, Jesus did just that. “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’” states Matthew 9:10-11. Jesus didn’t hang out with only the cool kids.

Remember that the Pharisees were the ones considered righteous and holy; they were perfect by the world’s standards. Yet, Jesus didn’t really care to associate with them. These people were all about the attention that came along with being 'perfect'. They wanted to be seen, recognized and praised. However, when we share Jesus with people just for attention, we are dealing with a major heart issue.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” Matthew 6:1-2

Jesus was truly a friend of sinners, but not because he winked at, ignored, or enjoyed immorality. He was a friend to them because he came to save them. He didn’t write off the thugs, prostitutes or orphans. He welcomed them with open arms, extending his grace to those who received him.

Before you turn your nose up at the immodestly clad girl begging for attention or the boy who leaves the stench of weed lingering when he passes, remember that Jesus came for them as well. He loves them too, no one is too far gone.

So, be vulnerable with people. Hang out with them. Invest in them. Choose to be a friend to them and ignore the unfair stereotypes. Just love them the way that Jesus loves them.

Those who are lost don’t need, nor want, people shoving religion down their throats. What they need is a relationship with their Savior, the One who loves them and wants to bridge the gap between the two of them. Show them that though you are saved, you are so far from perfect. God loves imperfect people. He chooses imperfect people to be the very representation of himself.

Being the hands and feet of Jesus to someone might not look like reciting the entire book of Luke to them. It may not look like dragging them to FCA with you for the sixth week in a row, just to look over and find them asleep in the seat beside you.

But, it could look like sitting in a room full of friends who talk about their wild weekend they don’t really remember and explaining to them why you choose not to engage in those activities. It might look like leaving your big group of friends to sit with the girl who could use some extra encouragement. Or, it might just look like a game of ping pong in the lounge. Because this is where conversations happen, and when you have the opportunity to become someone’s friend, you also have the opportunity to love them like Jesus.

If you love Jesus it will be evident in your life. You won’t have to walk around telling people, they will know. There will be something different about you that stands out and something that draws people in: Jesus shining through you.

In the darkness, people are always drawn to the light. Be the light.

“He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”- John 21:17