From Knowing ABOUT to KNOWING

Once again I was reading on of Donald Miller's books and he made a great point. He asked how sad is it for those to know about God down to the doctrinal and theological issues in full detail but don't KNOW God..."To know all the rules of a spiritual marriage, but never walk down the aisle"? The image of wedding planner came to mind. A wedding planner knows the ins and outs of what makes a wedding day go smoothly but  what if they themselves never walk down the aisle? Yes, they know about weddings better than the bride but they don't KNOW a wedding. It's like what Miller said--it's one thing to know the rules to being a follower of Jesus but it's an entirely different thing when you're joined to Jesus. As Christians, do we make our head knowledge of the Bible our identity and use it to look down our noses at sinners (which we ourselves are though saved by grace alone)? I wonder when Christians, including myself, will get it. That Jesus came to save sinners...yes he came to save that drug addict we are disgusted by and the 16 year old pregnant girl we call names. Jesus didn't say "Ok, now that you are one of my followers, go and tell the good news of salvation, BUT only to those that are lovely and friendly and already moralistic. All the rest...eh." I'm not trying to be irreverent. I'm trying to make a point. Jesus got mad at the Pharisees for making their identity how religious they were and how well they followed the rules. Jesus doesn't always want us to sit and pray about how a sinner we are and how we can grow. He wants us to get up and act out His love, compassion, and mercy. So get up today! Get up and reach out to that person who is beneath your moral code, your moral knowledge and love them as Jesus would. See that person through Jesus eyes and He saw you when He saved you.