“And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’” – Luke 5:30-31
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you must let His priorities set your priorities. Jesus came, “to seek and the save the lost” and so you must too. Jesus prioritized time and attention spent with those who knew they were far from God. Jesus ate with those rejected by the religious establishment, outsiders from the mainstream culture, and those understood to be betraying the values of the nation. This was shocking to the religious elite who tried to protect themselves from contact with such people.
Jesus however knew that they were the ones most open to the good news of God’s love and grace rather than the people who thought they had it all figured out. These were the people who knew at some instinctual level that they couldn’t get themselves right with God but were desperately hungry for His love anyway. Are you prioritizing people like that? Are you getting to know them, their stories, and their hurts? Are you sharing with them the hope that there is One who loves them and makes it possible for them to get right with God despite whatever lies in their past or present?
Perhaps you feel like one of those hopeless outsiders and rejects. Perhaps you feel unclean, guilty, or ashamed. Perhaps you feel beyond God’s love, care, or reach. You aren’t! God loves you and sent His Son Jesus to be your physician, to heal your spirit and bring you into relationship with God. Let Him! Seek to understand Jesus and believe in Him.