>>The thing that kills me is that some of the finest people I have ever known reject Jesus precisely because they are such exceptionally kind and giving folk. That further explains why Jesus says he's going to have to wipe away our tears.<<

I don't understand this statement at all- I don't know what you're talking about- and I don't think you can provide us with even one example of anyone rejecting Jesus "because they are such exceptionally kind and giving folk".

I have worked for the past twenty-five years with the homeless, the mentally ill, subtance abusers, and people who are HIV positive. The professionals I have worked closely with for so many years are some of the most tolerant and most spiritual people I have ever met. Some are Christians and some are not. The best of them accept their clients for who they are; without judgement or preconceptions.

I don't think that any of these clinicians "reject Jesus". I think that they reject the attitudes and legislative agendas of  those "Christians" who seek to cut the people they serve out of the benefits and services they need. 

I think that you need to examine your ideology. How much connection do you have to the community of poor, minority, mentally-ill, chemically-dependent, HIV positive people in your own town? Do you volunteer or see these people (and the people that care for them) or do you just read about them on the internet?

I like the concept of Jesus and I believe he'd be a champion of all the underpaid,overworked social workers I've known. All of them would appreciate his blessing. None of them, however, would submit to his "wiping their tears" just because they failed to meet someone else's interpretation of the Bible.....

Get out GM, and away from your computer. Do some volunteer work  in your community with people who need your help and see if your rigid Biblical interpretations soften at all. Jesus would probably like that.