Jesus Loved the Unlovable
OPENING PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for bringing us to a place to learn from your example today.
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.”
REFLECT:
Jesus did not follow conventional protocol. He hung out with the people that he wasn’t “supposed” to. He washed other people’s feet even though he “outranked” them. He asked to be baptized when he was pure and sinless and didn’t need to be. He constantly did the things he was supposed to do and showed love and grace to the people that he was supposed to shun.
APPLY:
We can follow Jesus’ example and seek ways to love the “unlovable.” We can offer hope to those in our community and beyond that may need it.
As Christ followers, we should speak up against injustice. With our words, finances, time, and talents, we can seek ways to fight against evil and love others well.
Look for new ways to be involved in your community. Pay attention to the nudges of the Holy Spirit as you seek where to devote your time, talent, and treasure. Empower and encourage others to do the same.
Make sure you are not keeping only the “leftovers” for those who may be in need. Jesus shows us better than anyone else: people are not throw-aways and we shouldn’t treat them as such. Take steps in your world today to love those who you may have previously considered unlovable.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, show me those that I’ve shut out and dismissed before. Open the door for me to change this course.