Phil 3:3-8; Lk 15:1-10
Jesus talked to anyone and everyone, all the time. It made no difference who they were or what their past was. He sat down with them, ate meals with them, listened to them, listened to their hearts, and then responded from the heart and healed their hearts. More than anything else, that’s why people trusted Him, responded to Him, and followed Him.
It was something His critics could never understand about Him. Over and over again, they said with profound disgust, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” To them their accusation was a legitimate and devastating blow to Jesus’ moral integrity. But in reality, their accusation was a window into their own souls, a window which displayed for all to see their utter lack of self-knowledge.
Anyone of us who knows him- or herself reasonably well, knows for sure how thoroughly dependent we are upon God’s understanding and compassion. If any of us ever got what we deserve from God, we’d be gone! Once we’re clear about that, then Jesus’ kindness to our fellow sinners is a relief to us and a cause for considerable gratitude.
We all tend to get a bit full of ourselves at times, and a little too hard and judgmental about others. When that happens, it’s wise to take a quick look at those Pharisee critics of Jesus and remember how foolhardy and off the mark their criticisms really were. A quick dose of that kind of reality can bring us back fast to our real task, which is to get everyone inside the circle of our love and concern and to leave no one outside.
It’s a lifetime task, so we’d better get started.
