For example, not every religious leader in the time of Jesus opposed Jesus. The men who acquired the body of Jesus after His crucifixion and buried it were religious leaders. Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the council that decided to put Jesus to death, and Nicodemus who was a pharisee were those men. So, it would be wrong to claim that EVERY religious leader of Jesus’ day opposed Jesus. There were some who were sympathetic to Jesus.

It would be equally wrong to assume that EVERY one of Jesus’ disciples was truly His disciple. Judas Iscariot was not, even though he was one of the twelve.

How often are we in error because we forget that there are exceptions? Not every young person is rebellious and crazy. Not every homeless person is irresponsible and lazy. There might not be anything wrong with a single young adult who is not married and who has no desire to marry. But we have this tendency to want to conform to the views of the majority in judging various groups. And much offense is both given and taken because of this.

Christians, of all people, should be the least prejudiced people. After all, are we not the most misunderstood people on earth? We trust and follow a God who is unseen. We give up our money and time for the sake of others unrelated to us. We value the community more than the individual, including the self. We act like life-after is more important than the life-now.

If we are so prone to be misunderstood, shouldn’t we also strive to understand those who are often misunderstood? This could be a muslim neighbor. This could be a young man in a dark hoodie. This could be a family that is broken by past moral failures…

Not only understanding them, but loving them. That is Christian. Isn’t that what God did with us?

PH