The Point

One day the religious leaders of Jesus' day questioned his disciples about his practice of eating with despised tax collectors and despicable sinners.  How could one, speaking for God, keep company with such godless individuals?

Jesus' response was classic, "who needs a physician but those that are sick?" (Matt 9:12).  Who better for one calling individuals to God to be with the those who were separated from him?  Think about it; does an ARMY recruiter hang out with the troops in the barracks or with the civilians at the mall?  Where would one trying to reach out be if not with those on the outside?

This response would seem to be enough but Jesus presses the issue further in saying, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt 9:13).  He speaks to the heart of God's desire, that the Father is not really interested in all the religious stuff that the religious do but rather in the heart of what produces acts of righteousness.

It was not the sacrifice of bulls and goats performed by the priests or the worship and offerings of religious folk today that God desires - it is the heart turning to one's Father, becoming godly in the process that He seeks.  He isn't interested in us gathering in church buildings to discuss how righteous we should be but rather in us going into the market place proclaiming God's love and displaying His mercy to those who do not know Him.

Of course, as Christ followers, we will want to gather together for the purposes of encouragement and equipping but for the reason of then going out to share the love of God with those beaten down by life and feeling anything but His love.

Hunters need to hunt, fishermen need to fish and soldier need to engage.  Gathering around the fire at the deer camp, sharing stories at the fishing lodge or shinning boots back at the barracks are all well and good things to do, but they are not the point.  Those activities are down times in between mission activities, not the missions themselves.

God doesn't want us to focus on our religious activities or gatherings but instead to use both to better equip us for the relational activities of reaching out to a lost and hurting world, proclaiming with our lives the love of the Father as we follow in the steps of Jesus who "came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk 19:10).  Jus' Say'n.