Father, Son and Spirit, I thank you that you delight in this time I shre with you this morning.
“As Jesus was having a meal in Leviʼs home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy donʼt need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:13-17)
Jesus, as I read this passage I see that to you the lost, those that are caught up in sinful lifestyles and don’t know you as Lord, have extreme value to you. They are a treasure so great to you that you leave behind all that you have and the safety of your church friends to go seek them and find them. You went and hung out at places they hung out, invited them to share meals at your table, and proclaiming the good news of deliverance to them was at the heart of your ministry. You loved them. You even said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
I do not see that value for the lost as a treasure to be sought out in the church today. Most of the attitude of those in churches today is the same as the attitude of “the church people” in the passage above, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The “lost” are something to avoid and stay away from and people use the term “lost” towards others in a derogatory way or gossip about them in parking lots or small groups. We desire to be in a “Sanctuary”apart from the lost. Yet a church-going Christian’s personal knowledge that they “saved” and their attending a Sunday morning church services has absolutely no impact on those who do not know Christ around them.
Jesus, if you had one day to physically come back to earth, you would not visit my church, or any church, you would visit prisoners in jail. You would not want to hear a church choir practice, but the hear stories of the homeless and addicted in the streets. You would not share a meal at a Wednesday night church gathering, but at the happy hour of a bar with those who have no church family. We in the church, we read the stories of your life Jesus like these in Mark 2, we know that is what you did, we know you hung out with prostitutes and sinners, we know we are called to imitate our lives after yours, so why don’t we value and seek out the lost like you did? When was the last time you planned a day or activity, and put it in your calendar that was centered around seeking, finding, and sharing the Gospel with your brothers and sisters that have not been set free in Christ? When was the last time you valued a co-worker, neighbor, classmate, or anyone who does not love Jesus enough to invite them over to your house to share a meal and have a conversation about Jesus with them? When was the last time your heart truly broke and mourned for the lost, that you spent time on your knees praying for them? When was the last time you shouted with joy and rejoiced because you had led someone into the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Can you remember? Was it last week? Last month? Last Year? 5 Years ago?
I would truly rather no one show up at a service on Sunday and instead; they go out intentionally to share their faith and visit their local jail, hang out and pray with people in the Emergency waiting room of a hospital, go into a bar, walk the street with the homeless, walks the mall praying over and with people and workers, invite people into their home for a Sunday brunch, or in some other way actively seek “lost” treasure. And so would Jesus!
My family, I pray today your heart will break and mourn in prayer over your brothers and sisters who are perishing without Christ. I pray today as you begin a new week you will intentionally and actively plan out, set a date, time, and place when you will leave your (your church family, routine and comfort and imitate Jesus and go out seeking lost treasure or invite “tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners” to a meal in your home, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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