Most of us didn’t come to faith because someone won an argument with us. We came because someone loved us when we didn’t deserve it. That’s the heart of Brett Young’s “Back To Jesus,” a quiet, honest country song from his 2023 album. Young sings about a woman whose patience and forgiveness showed him more about God than any sermon ever could. She didn’t shame him into changing or keep a record of his failures to flog him towards obedience. She stayed, she forgave, and she refused to meet his worst moments with her own. Somewhere in that steady, undeserved love, he found his way home to the Savior who had been loving him the same way all along.
It’s a beautiful reminder for those of us who follow Jesus, we love best when we lead with grace. It’s easy to believe that pointing out someone’s sin is the fastest way to bring them to repentance. But Scripture tells us it’s God’s kindness that leads us there (Romans 2:4). Jesus didn’t win over Zacchaeus with a lecture. He invited himself to dinner. He didn’t condemn the woman caught in adultery. He sent her accusers away and then called her to a new life. When we choose forgiveness over fighting and presence over judgment, we become living pictures of the gospel.
The people around us, the prodigals, the skeptics, the ones who’ve been hurt by the church, may never open a Bible. But they’re reading our lives. So as you listen to this song, ask yourself: Who might God be loving back to Jesus through me?
