Friend of Sinners
"The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and people say, 'Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does." (Matthew 11:19 NCV)
Jesus is a friend of sinners.
Jesus is a friend of sinners.
The problem with being raised in the church (which is otherwise a blessing I hope never to take for granted) is that I can get so "used to" this truth that I miss how radical it is.
I can get to a point where I accept it as fact and forget how fantastic it is.
Jesus is and was a friend—a FRIEND!!—of sinners. Not just someone who tolerated them. Not just someone who paid them a little attention. But someone who befriended them. Someone who loved them.
The religious elite of Jesus' day had no idea how to truly be in relationship with God, and so they did what they knew: made and followed rules. People who broke those rules—the "sinners"—were outside their frame of reference for relating to God.
Then came Jesus, the rule-breaker who talked to "those people"! And touched them! And let them touch Him! And took part in the personal, intimate act of eating together IN THEIR VERY HOMES!
"'Justification by grace through faith,'" wrote Brennan Manning in "The Ragamuffin Gospel," "is the theologian's learned phrase for what [G.K.] Chesterton once called 'the furious love of God.' He is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners. False gods—the gods of human manufacturing—despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. But of course, this is almost too incredible for us to accept. Nevertheless, by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved son. This is the Good News, the gospel of grace."
I read this, and I am shaken a little from my lethargy. I think, "Wow...it really WAS a big deal that Jesus was a friend to sinners." But then I hear God's voice taking me further.
"Elizabeth, don't you understand? Don't you see? The sinner I am a friend of is you."
Oh my friends and fellow sinners, hear God's voice speak that radical truth to you today, too...
"_______________, the sinner I am a friend of is you."
The problem with being raised in the church (which is otherwise a blessing I hope never to take for granted) is that I can get so "used to" this truth that I miss how radical it is.
I can get to a point where I accept it as fact and forget how fantastic it is.
Jesus is and was a friend—a FRIEND!!—of sinners. Not just someone who tolerated them. Not just someone who paid them a little attention. But someone who befriended them. Someone who loved them.
The religious elite of Jesus' day had no idea how to truly be in relationship with God, and so they did what they knew: made and followed rules. People who broke those rules—the "sinners"—were outside their frame of reference for relating to God.
Then came Jesus, the rule-breaker who talked to "those people"! And touched them! And let them touch Him! And took part in the personal, intimate act of eating together IN THEIR VERY HOMES!
"'Justification by grace through faith,'" wrote Brennan Manning in "The Ragamuffin Gospel," "is the theologian's learned phrase for what [G.K.] Chesterton once called 'the furious love of God.' He is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners. False gods—the gods of human manufacturing—despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. But of course, this is almost too incredible for us to accept. Nevertheless, by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved son. This is the Good News, the gospel of grace."
I read this, and I am shaken a little from my lethargy. I think, "Wow...it really WAS a big deal that Jesus was a friend to sinners." But then I hear God's voice taking me further.
"Elizabeth, don't you understand? Don't you see? The sinner I am a friend of is you."
Oh my friends and fellow sinners, hear God's voice speak that radical truth to you today, too...
"_______________, the sinner I am a friend of is you."
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!