Thought of the Day !!

The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do." Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: `I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."
Matthew 9:11-13 (NLT)

John Wesley took scriptures like this to heart as he said that our mission was to seek out the least, the last and the lost. For is that not exactly what Jesus did? Is that not exactly what the Church is called to do in Jesus' absence?

But could it be that we sometimes forget the call to make disciples...the command to love one another...the biblical mandate to be merciful in light of everything else that fills up our week and even our worship service? How many of us have invited someone to church lately? And for those of us who have, how many of those were people who were different than ourselves? And finally, if we did invite someone of a different color or background or lifestyle, would our church be Pharisaical in its response to them by wondering why "those" kind of people were there?

I've come to realize that there is really no in between here. We either want to seek out the least, the last and the lost, or we don't want to get dirty. Yes, I said dirty. And the dirtiest man that ever lived was Jesus. Yes, I did say Jesus. We think more about how Jesus was perfectly sinless and how he makes us clean. But to make us clean he had to first get his hands dirty and come to us where we were. And after he does this, he asks that we be willing to do the same.

I think we can all get caught up in our comfort zones where life is safe and we know how to handle everything that's going on around us. But the truth is that when we do this, we become like the Pharisees in many ways. It's time to come out of our comfort zones and do ministry...real ministry. And believe it or not, that may mean going to the places where there are people who are sick in sin. It may mean inviting people who are different to our churches. It may mean welcoming people who are different. It may actually mean that we become a different kind of people ourselves. The kind of people who are more open and welcoming to all God's children. Oh what a difference that would make in God's kingdom.

Are you ready to make a difference for Christ? If so, allow him to use you somewhere or somehow today that you might not normally want to be used. And if you don't feel that calling today, wait patiently and pray about it. God will find a place to use you. I suspect He already has it picked out. He's just waiting for your willingness to allow Him to work through you.

In the love of Christ,
greg