When Saul was on his way to Damascus to wreak havoc on the Christians residing there, we read in Acts 9:3-5, "As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...". We read in Matthew 25:44-45, in the Sheep and Goat judgment, "Then they also will answer Him saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me'." So connected are we to Jesus, that we read Jesus' own words in His High Holy Prayer recorded in John 17:20-23, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one Just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me;...". When we fail to extend grace to our fellow believers, we are in essence persecuting Jesus, as Jesus told Saul that he was doing on his way to Damascus. Everyone can recite the Lord's prayer by heart since childhood, but most never read the two verses immediately after the Lord's prayer as recorded in Scripture. We read in Matthew 6:14-15, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

We often forget that the one thing that we all have in common is that we are all sinners in desperate need of grace from God. Knowing this, why do we assume the role of judge rather than fellow sinner to our fellow Christians and unbelievers. When we choose to wag our finger or "pray publicly about one who has fallen into sin" which sometimes gives us the license to gossip about others, do we fail to realize that as we are persecuting that individual, we are in essence persecuting Jesus also. This does not negate the commands of Scripture and what God defines as right and wrong. The sins are indeed sins, but the sinners are still His children. Because of that they are in need of love rather than condemnation. There will be earthly consequences for our poor choices, but that is between God and the individual. When our brother or sister is continuing to sin, we are to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), and help them realize their need for repentance. But once they have repented, they need to be loved in the aftermath, so that they keep their eyes on Jesus. Grace is the answer we need from God when we sin, and grace is what we need to extend when dealing with our fellow sinners.