Being Religious Doesn’t Always Mean Being Right

We all have our comfort zone. The question is: do we ever get out of it? If we wish to follow the example of Jesus, we must be prepared to have encounters with people that would typically have us running the other direction. Take a peek into this conversation between Jesus and the respected religious leaders of his day found in Matthew 9:9-13:

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.

While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

 

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Did you notice these well-respected religious leaders have an air of spiritual superiority about them? Rather than desiring to help the weak, vulnerable, poor, and blatant ‘sinners’, they consider it offensive for Jesus to give them the time of day. These men were religious, but they were totally wrong in how they related to God and others. They needed a change of heart.

In his New York Times best-seller, Love Does: Discovering a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World, author Bob Goff writes, “Jesus spent most of his life with people we spend most of ours trying to avoid.”

Could it be true? Do you spend most of your time where you feel most comfortable – avoiding people and places because of a sense of spiritual snobbery? Do you need a change of heart toward God and others? If so, it’s never too late to “get in the game” of loving others the way Jesus loves. Selflessly. Fearlessly. Undeniably.

Let’s love like Jesus today. It’s because of his love for us that we have the privilege to do the same.