Jesus Came to Call Sinners

 As Christians, I am afraid we have a bad reputation among those who are not Christians. Often, they see us being judgmental toward them, and they feel like we don't love them or care about them. Also, sometimes we can be very legalistic and put the emphasis on things that don't really matter like Tattoos and long hair. On the other hand, we can be too lenient, so that we don't say enough about Jesus and our beliefs. We need to get the right picture in mind.

After Matthew, the tax collector, was called to follow Jesus, he invited his friends to his house, and Jesus ate with them and had a good time relating to them. The pharisees got upset, so Jesus had to instruct them. (Mark 2:17) Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Christians need to hear this and remember it every day.

We are all sinners, so Christ came to call all of us to salvation through trusting Him. We should be very thankful to Him for loving us enough to do what only He could do for us. We should realize that He loves all sinners in the same way, and so He wants everyone to come to know Him, no matter what they have been doing or how they have been living. The Holy Spirit is drawing them to Jesus's love.

However, they need to see it in us, too. We must love sinners like Jesus did. We must not stay away from them, but relate to them, eat with them, and have relationships with them. That way we can show them that Jesus loves them and so do we. Then, we can call them to salvation in Jesus, and they will know we are doing it out of love, because we care for them. That works much better than how many Christians are living now.  

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 4-6.