Compassion. Period.

The following is an excerpt from the book How to Become HIV+: Guidelines For the Local Church by Dr. Johan Mostert.

"I received a call one day from my friend Martin Deacon, the Southern Africa Director for Bruce Wilkinson's "Walk thru the Bible" organization. He informed me that Bruce's heart was devastated by what he saw during one of his visits to Africa, and he wanted to do something about AIDS. Martin was putting together a small group of Christian AIDS experts to advise them on the content of Bruce's proposed six-part AIDS video, "God's Answer to AIDS".

A group of about 25 of us became part of this think tank. We were thrilled that someone with the international stature of Bruce Wilkinson would actually focus his attention on something so important to Africa. Known internationally as the New York Times best selling author of 'Prayer of Jabez', his attention would do a lot to focus the church's attention on AIDS.

In the end there was a lot of lively conversation and consensus, except on one issue. Some of us felt strongly that the series should begin with a study on biblical compassion, while the American team wanted to begin with a study on sin and forgiveness. In the American evangelical mind, AIDS is viscerally connected with gays and gays are viscerally connected with sexual sin. Therefore, in this line of thinking, any biblical study of AIDS must begin with sin and forgiveness."

Dr. Mostert goes on in this passage to describe a personal encounter with a family where an elderly woman was raising 4 small children after losing her daughter to AIDS; an all too common scenario in parts of Africa.

I know that there are well meaning people in my church today who believe that AIDS is God's punishment for sexual sin. If that's you, let me ask you this. What did that elderly woman do? And what's God's punishment for your awful, twisted, dark, evil sin? Because I guarantee that, apart from Jesus, God can't tell you apart from a gay guy, and what's more, if that gay guy has Jesus and you don't, guess who's in trouble. And guess who's going to be picking out dapper window treatments for his palace in Heaven.

Where in the bible has God instructed us to go and convict the world of sin? Where exactly? I find precisely two clear directives issued by Jesus as the summation of the entire law.

Number One: Love the Lord your God.

Number Two: Love your neighbor.

Raise your hand if you catch the pattern here. There is plenty about admonishing one another and spurring one another on to righteousness; that is, other believers, but despite what we recovering baptists learned in FAITH training, the gospel message does NOT begin with sin. It begins and ends with love.

Yes, God hates sin, but you know what else God hates? Haters. Check out Proverbs 6:16-19.

I have been instructed to put only one person's sin to death - my own (Col. 3:5). Therefore, I have no intention of uttering the word "sin" even one time while i'm sharing the gospel with hurting people in Africa. I've been seized by the power of a great affection and i have only one word to bring to the broken and the lost: Compassion. Period.

* You can purchase a copy of the book How to Become HIV+: Guidelines For the Local Church here.