A Friend of Sinners

Daily Reading:  Luke 19

When they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. (Luke 19.7)

Devotional Thought: In Luke 19, Jesus meets an “IRS agent” named Zacchaeus. This tax collector was deemed a sinner by those in his community.  While Jesus did indeed confirm that Zacchaeus was a “lost” sinner (v. 10), he still wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ house and spend some time with him!  The sad part of the story is the reaction of people who should have known better.  They were incensed!

We need to examine our view of and adjust our attitudes toward “sinners”.  We need to...

• Recognize that people are sinners.  The longer we are in the church, the more we become insulated to the pain and plight of sinners.  Without Christ they are destined to eternity separated from Christ.

• Love sinners.  Jesus did.  It is so easy for us to get disgusted and to think, “They’ve done this to themselves…”  While that is true, Jesus still reached out to them; he still saw them as sheep without a shepherd.

• Be friends with sinners, finding ways to interact with them.  We are not to adopt their values, but we are to value them.  We are not to live their way, but we are to show them the way by living close to them.

• Recognize that the resources and programs of the church must be invested in sinners.  The people in Jesus’ day were not one bit happy that Jesus chose to focus on sinners.  I have a feeling that not much has changed today.  But, we need it to change.  That means that we have to share our pastors, our buildings, our services, our funds, our programs with those who aren’t even a part of our church.

Are you, like Jesus, a friend of sinners?

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, that you are a friend of sinners.  Help me to be their friend, too - to feel their pain, to love them, to befriend them, and to invest in them - so that they, like Zacchaeus, can come to know you.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 143.1-6

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah