Verse of the Day - Luke 5:31-32

Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." ~ Luke 5:31-32 (NIV)

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Jesus' tactics were pretty radical for the religious leaders of His time. Rub shoulders with sinners?!? Eat with them, talk to them, give them the time of day?!? To them it was all about self, keeping oneself ceremonially clean and untainted by the dregs of society. But Jesus was all about selflessness, embracing those who had messed up their lives with wrong choices and selfish ways. He had good news for them, that God was not far off and aloof, like the church people in the synagogue. He was up close and personal. He was love. And He could make a difference in their lives. He could make change.

So, how different are we than the Pharisees?

Do we stick our noses up at those who have lived their lives apart from God and are up to their eyeballs in sin? Do we flee from them, as if they had the contagious and deadly bird flu? And do we put stipulations and burdens on those who do come to our congregations, as if somehow they have to get well before they go see the doctor?

So many people have this concept without us perpetuating it. They think they need to "get their act together" before coming to church. If we think about it, we'll realize that it's impossible for any of us to get our act together without God! And He knows that full well -- He only asks that people come to Him in truth, acknowledging their sin and desiring to be changed. The change part is His job! And, frankly, we need to examine ourselves and make sure we're not taking any credit for the righteousness we have, as believers in Jesus. We are not good, apart from Him, and taking credit for holy living is sin. And that sin puts you right back in the "sinner pile", along with all the other sinner cards. In fact, you never left the sinner pile, since we all sin and fall short of God's glory.

See, we're all in the same deck of cards . . . but somehow, we tend to elevate ourselves as better than the guy who drinks away his paycheck and sits home on Sunday mornings watching football . . . better than the girl whose skirts are too short and whose dates are too cheap . . . better than the group of skateboarders who seem to have no ambition for life and whose tattoos and piercings display the latest art form.

If you're a Queen of Hearts, you may well think you're better than a seven of clubs . . . but Jesus says, Watch out. Your pride is tainting you more than you know. You've forgotten from where you came. All people are in the same deck. All of you need the Head Dealer to turn you over before you can be of any use to Me.

I pray that we can humble ourselves before our God and recognize firmly His amazing grace on us. If we have given ourselves to Him, we are saved from death by His grace, not by our works -- it is a gift from Him alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let us not then set ourselves above others who have not come to faith yet -- they need our love, not our piousness. Jesus set the godly example for us to follow. Are we learning from Him, or scoffing at His tactics, like the Pharisees did?

Love,
Joelene