Just the Way I Am
Theme of the Week: Who's In? Who's Out?
Joseph Stowell
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: When some of the teachers of the religious law … saw him eating with people like that, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?" (Mark 2:16). Bonus Reading: Mark 2:14-17
How would you respond if someone confessed to the church that they had been a practicing homosexual? Having been forgiven by Jesus, they were committed to living a celibate life–style, looking to their brothers for support, prayer, and accountability. Would they be included in your next dinner party? Your small group? At the time for greeting in the service would they be as warmly greeted … hugged?
Would everyone from your town feel welcomed by the people in your church? Does your church have a reputation as an outpost of forgiveness and mercy? If Jesus accepts us just as we are, then bringing Jesus to our non–Jesus world means that we too must receive people just as they are. They'll need to repent of their sins and seek to live godly lives. But how do we expect them to start the process if they feel that church people are too good for them or too condemning of their lifestyle?
Jesus purposefully engaged those who needed His healing grace. "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do," Jesus told the religious leaders [in Mark 2:14-17]. "I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."
—Joseph Stowell in The Trouble With Jesus
My Response: Someone at the fringe of our fellowship that I'll reach out to is _____.
Thought to Apply: The church is not a museum for finished products. It's a hospital for the sick. —BRUCE LARSON
Adapted from The Trouble With Jesus (Moody, 2003) by permission.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Lord Jesus, I tend to cold-shoulder those You reach out to with compassion. Please change my heart.
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