Among Them

Every ministry has a target population it is looking to help, and Jesus was no different in that regard.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." Then they said to him, "John's disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink. Jesus said to them, "You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, 'The old is good.'" - Luke 5:27-39

Jesus targeted those in need of repentance, sinners, so it made sense for him to associate with them, right?

I can understand why the Pharisees don't get it.  They see themselves as above those who sin.  The righteous and the unrighteous need to be kept apart, in their eyes.

But what is the goal of God?

Is the goal to separate and punish, or is it to call home those who are lost and reinstate them into the family, like the father who welcomes his prodigal son home?

It might be difficult to convince people that they need to try something new if you never associate with them and only criticize their lifestyle from afar.

Of course, we do this, don't we?

We pump ourselves up and inflate our own egos while casting aspersions at others from a distance, not wanting to associate with them directly.

The Us and Them syndrome runs rampant, especially on social media, where we can safely maintain our distance.

So, Jesus reminds us that we need to be one with those we seek to help, and with those we love.

Now, if only we could learn to love those we despise, imagine what a great world this could be.

More to come...