SHIFT 08 - Devotional 6: Totally Accept

Devotionals

?For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.?
John 3:17 NIV

Did you read the quote? It seems to me that if God is not in the business of trying to condemn the world, then we shouldn?t be either!

The more I read the biographies of Jesus, the more clear it becomes that Jesus refused to put people into typical religious categories. He refused the kind of ?us? versus ?them? thinking that was typical of the religious people of his day. He refused to treat people as if they belonged to those categories.

The Pharisees were the religious professionals of Jesus? day. They had designed elaborate rules for treating people according to those categories. There were association rules: as in who a ?real? religious person could associate with and who they could not associate with. There were attendance rules: as in who could attend religious events and who couldn?t. These rules made it clear who was an ?us? and who was a ?them.? And these rules were important to the religious professionals. Did I say important? I meant very, very important!

In fact, Jesus received more heat about his disregard of these rules than about anything else related to his ministry. And we would do well to remember ? these rules were mostly man-made.

So why did the rules generate so much energy? Why so much anger directed at Jesus for disregarding rules that were not part of God?s law? More importantly, do we ever find ourselves committed to this kind of thinking? Have you ever found yourself being deeply critical of ?those liberals? or ?those conservatives? or ?those gays? or ?those immigrants? ? I guess we can take some consolation in the fact that if we figure out who our ?them? is, then they probably have us as a ?them? as well.

Jesus cut through all that. He accepted everyone exactly right where they were and for exactly who they were. That?s what made it possible for him to call them to be something better. It?s not that Jesus ever minded telling ?sinners? the truth. He readily told his listeners that they were not acting according to God?s will or in concert with their own real best interest. The thing is, when Jesus told them, they were often willing to listen. And for this he was severely criticized. Go figure!

There?s a really good snapshot of this whole dynamic recorded for us in Luke?s account of when Jesus invited Matthew to become one of his students. Matthew is referred to as Levi in this passage. As you read, make note of Levi?s response and make note of the response of the Pharisees.

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

{Luke 5:27-31 NIV}

See what I mean? Jesus is just not operating with the same categories as the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Matthew?s ?sickness? is a point of repulsion for the religious professionals. ?He?s one of ?them.? He?s exactly what?s wrong with our society!? But Matthew?s ?sickness? is a point of attraction for Jesus.

And Jesus is making us to be ?fishers of people.? He?s turning us into the kind of people who are attracted to Matthew. He?s turning us into the kind of people who disregard categories. He?s turning us into the kind of people who totally accept others right where they are and for who they are. This earns us the right to invite them to ask God to help them be better than they now are.

All week long, we?ve been looking at making a SHIFT. We?ve looked at how to become the kind of people who could bring other people into a life-changing relationship with God. I pray that this becomes much more than a series of nice daily thoughts. I pray that this becomes a lifestyle for us. You see, this was not a small concern for Jesus. He began his ministry by calling his followers to be his witnesses. He ended his ministry by telling them they would be empowered to do exactly that. And in between he showed them in word and deed what that looked like.

If you want to see more evidence of Jesus? desire, listen to one of his stories. Also notice the context of the story. Here again ? Jesus is getting himself into trouble. He just doesn?t seem to realize the importance of judging people according to well-established categories!

1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. {John 15:1-7 NIV}