“Sinners”

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 2:13-17

Throughout the Gospels, we find all sorts of people approaching Jesus, wherever He went. They came to be taught, healed, accepted, and forgiven. Some criticized Jesus for associating with tax collectors and sinners, people considered undesirable.

You may be called to help in any number of ways, and it is not up to you to decide.

Being available for the needs of others honors Christ.

Our Daily Bread – October 13, 2010