February 1st, 2021
Text: Luke 19:7
All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ (NRSV)
The Church is supposed to be the body of Christ on earth. We are called to be those who continue the ministry of Jesus in our world today. I find it interesting that the Church seems to be more about condemning those who Jesus spent time with than seeking out relationships with those who need Jesus' love and forgiveness the most.
When the Church focuses on condemning instead of welcoming, we have become something other than what Jesus was. Jesus came into the sinful and broken world with the express purpose of welcoming sinners into a relationship with God.
It is not that Jesus condoned sin; it is that Jesus welcomed all without condition. In the process of welcoming, Jesus proclaimed the worth of even the most broken. As the broken recognized their worth in the sight of the Son of God, they began to be transformed by the love offered to them without condition.
How many would come into a life-giving relationship with God if they were welcomed into that relationship with unconditional love flowing from Jesus’ Church instead of hate filled words of condemnation?
Pray with Me:
God of unconditional love and welcome thank you for the love you have given to me as you welcomed me into relationship through the love of Jesus Christ. May I seek to welcome others as I share the unconditional love of Jesus with them. AMEN.
All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ (NRSV)
The Church is supposed to be the body of Christ on earth. We are called to be those who continue the ministry of Jesus in our world today. I find it interesting that the Church seems to be more about condemning those who Jesus spent time with than seeking out relationships with those who need Jesus' love and forgiveness the most.
When the Church focuses on condemning instead of welcoming, we have become something other than what Jesus was. Jesus came into the sinful and broken world with the express purpose of welcoming sinners into a relationship with God.
It is not that Jesus condoned sin; it is that Jesus welcomed all without condition. In the process of welcoming, Jesus proclaimed the worth of even the most broken. As the broken recognized their worth in the sight of the Son of God, they began to be transformed by the love offered to them without condition.
How many would come into a life-giving relationship with God if they were welcomed into that relationship with unconditional love flowing from Jesus’ Church instead of hate filled words of condemnation?
Pray with Me:
God of unconditional love and welcome thank you for the love you have given to me as you welcomed me into relationship through the love of Jesus Christ. May I seek to welcome others as I share the unconditional love of Jesus with them. AMEN.
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