This morning, our pastor talked about how Jesus was classified by his association with sinners. People looked down on the fact that he hung out with tax collectors, drunkards and people with ill reputations, but his response was that healthy people don't need a doctor, people who are sick do.
I am extremely thankful that Jesus loves and associates with sinners.
Unfortunately, this world is pretty messed up. Even the best of us fall down. We hurt people without realizing it, or intentionally when we feel like it. We lie. We swear. We are mean. We are crabby. We are sinful.
If Jesus didn't associate with sinners, this world would be a lost cause. We would have no hope. We would live the best we could and that would be it.
But Jesus does love sinners.
He loves us so much that he came into the world to reach us. He became a man, died on the cross and took on all the punishment for our sins and he rose from the dead to conquer Satan and death. If we just accept his gracious gift, we can overcome our sin and live an eternal, perfect life in heaven.
I read a comment on an Instagram post once about how morbid Christians are, that we live for another world that is not this one. That may seem crazy to people. However, when you think about how short this life is and how eternal death is, it makes sense. We live in a hope of a better place, a perfect place, a place that is how earth was designed to be before sin entered it.
I am thankful for hope beyond the grave. I am thankful for a God who so loves us sinners that he would extend the grace that we need to meet him. I am thankful for a God who not only associates with sinners but forgives them.
That's what I'm grateful for today.
How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment