PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Luke 5:27-32
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
”I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners…” (Luke 5:32)
To “eat and drink with” is to experience close fellowship with.
Jesus comes for “sinners”, to call them to rethink their lives (repent).
The religious leaders were welcome too, but wouldn’t admit they were sinners.
They were confident in their own rightness, and looked down on others.
Jesus wants to fellowship with all of us, to help us rethink our lives.
But we have to be willing to admit that we’re not so ‘right’ afterall.
The difficulty is that I don’t know where I am not right.
What I believe and how I live seem right to me, it’s others who are wrong.
And this is exactly what the religious leaders thought.
It is only as I spend time with Jesus that I see myself in a new way.
I see how weak my own love is, how selfish my priorities and opinions are.
Being with Jesus does not make me better than others.
But being with Jesus can make me better than I am…
…if I am willing to admit that I’m not as right as I think I am.
PRAYER
Lord, I admit that I am not like you are, not the way God wants me to be. Thank you for welcoming me, and helping me to become better with you!
Jesus sought the least, lost and the last – but also the unwell. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” So often we ignore them and go on with our lives – not thinking or caring. Lord, help us to see each person differently – the way you would – each an image bearer of God needing grace! Even the seemingly important can be lost and unwell – they might not realize it. Help me to speak the right word and do the right thing Lord – to make a difference for you!
He brought me to His banqueting table.
Jesus came for all but not all came. Some stood from afar and were self righteous. They looked down on those at the banqueting table. They felt they were better than all – it was beneath their dignity and beneath their role. However, they were to be the example fir the people for they were the religious leaders – gone astray. Only in Christ, only living for Jesus can I truly live as His child. Only in Him can I be me – his child.
He Brought Me To His Banqueting Table
He Brought Me To His Banqueting Table
And His Banner Over Me Is Love
I Am My Beloved’s And He Is Mine
I Am My Beloved’s And He Is Mine
And His Banner Over Me Is Love
Yes, His Banner Over Me Is Love