Tax
Collectors And Other Notorious Sinners
Often
Came
To Listen To Jesus Teach.
Scripture
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners
often came to listen to Jesus teach.
2 This
made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was
associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
4 “If a
man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?
Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to
search for the one that is lost until he finds it?
5 And
when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his
shoulders.
6 When he
arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
7 In the
same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who
repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are
righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Observation
Maybe
you think that you are too much of a sinner to come to Jesus. My
friend, Jesus attracted tax collectors and other notorious sinners
like a magnet! They were very comfortable around Jesus.
Two
Bible characters that immediately come to my mind are Zacchaeus and
Matthew, both were tax collectors, and both became followers of
Jesus.
By
the way, if notorious sinners are not comfortable around me then that
is because I have a spiritual heart problem. It is not because of
Jesus who lives in me. Jesus accepted people as they were and asked
them to follow Him. He didn't accept their sinful lifestyle, but He
accepted and loved them.
Application
I
want people to see Jesus in my life and be drawn to Him. I want to
have God's heart for the people around me.
How about you?
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, help me to see past the sin in a person's life to see them as
You see them. Give me Your heart for the people around me. I realize
that I too am a sinner and only because of Your tender mercy and
grace have I experienced forgiveness. I don't deserve Your love. I
don't deserve the personal relationship that I have with You. Help me
to see people the way that You see them.
Daily
Bible Reading: Zechariah 13,14; Psalms 147; Luke 15
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