Undeserved Praise. Luke 5:27-31 Jesus Chooses Levi 27 After this, Jesus left the house. He saw a tax collector sitting at the tax booth. The man’s name was Levi. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him. 28 Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi gave a huge dinner for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of the law complained to Jesus’ disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. 32 I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to turn away from their sins.” I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. —Luke 5:32 Even before I could afford a self-cleaning oven, I managed to keep my oven clean. Guests even commented on it when we had them over for a meal. “Wow, your oven is so clean. It looks like new.” I accepted the praise even though I knew I didn’t deserve it. The reason my oven was clean had nothing to do with my meticulous scrubbing; it was clean because I so seldom used it. How often, I wonder, am I guilty of accepting undeserved admiration for my “clean” life? It’s easy to give the impression of being virtuous; simply do nothing difficult, controversial, or upsetting to people. But Jesus said we are to love people who don’t agree with us, who don’t share our values, who don’t even like us. Love requires that we get involved in the messy situations of people’s lives. Jesus was frequently in trouble with religious leaders who were more concerned about keeping their own reputations clean than they were about the spiritual condition of those they were supposed to care for. They considered Jesus and His disciples unclean for mingling with sinners when they were simply trying to rescue people from their destructive way of life (Luke 5:30-31). True disciples of Jesus are willing to risk their own reputations to help others out of the mire of sin. Dear Lord, give me a heart of compassion for those who are lost in sin. Help me not to be concerned about what others think of me but only that Your holy name will be honored. Christ sends us out to bring others in.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:03:28 +0000
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