Jesus came for the sinners. For all of us who know we are not perfect. Who recognize that we ALL have work to do, and that no matter how hard we try, we will never attain perfection. But it’s our job to work on ourselves nonetheless.
He didn’t come for the Pharisees, so were so certain that they were perfect. He knew that their over-confidence in their own beliefs and rules made them pretty much a lost cause. And so he focussed on those who really needed his help.
The woman at the well. No one else would associate with her. She was such an outcast that she often chose to get her water in the heat of the day, when no one else would be at the well because it was probably better to suffer the heat than the judgement of all the other townspeople.
The man with leprosy. No one would touch him, except for Jesus.
The unclean woman, who for 12 years was kept separated from all of those in her family because of a physical disease that no one else could heal but Jesus.
All those people that had been cast out because they were so far “below” everyone else. He came for THEM.
The Bible quite often shows us people who are looked down upon, who aren’t considered as “good” as others, to do great things.
So maybe the next time you look down on that person in the pew across from you, or on that street corner, begging for a meal, you should try to remember all the people who came before you. The “least”. And remember that God has a funny way of raising them up so much higher than you could ever imagine.
And if you ever feel like one of the “least”, please, please, please do not let that become who you think you are. All of those people knew that with God, anything was possible. And they have gone down in history as powerful, life changing, admirable people.
Friends, we all have times where we don’t feel like we measure up. The thing we often forget is that there is no measuring tape being used on our lives. There is nothing to measure up to. God has done all of the work to make us “enough.” He has secured our place beside Him already, doing all the work for us.
We are called to love. To obey. To follow Him.
I pray that we would let go of the images we have built up of ourselves. Whether they are good or bad, I can promise they are not how God sees us. I pray that we would set that down and follow where He leads us. And that we would know that wherever He leads us will be so much better than we could ever imagine for ourselves.
If you would like me to lift you up in prayer, please leave me your name. I don’t need the details because He has those. I just need a name.
Soul to Sole Living 