Westside Church of Christ

Jesus hung out with the wrong kinds of folks. That rattled His enemies and endeared Him to the sinful. He came for them, for us. It is easy to look for those who have it all together and show up every Sunday looking the part, well dressed and wearing a smile. Underneath is turbulence. Maybe failure to resist that never-ending temptation. We should have it mastered by now. We haven’t, and we are ashamed. Guilty. Embarrassed. Does anyone else feel what we feel? Should we even show up? Do we belong here among the “saints”?

The Son of God came on a mission for people just like us, sin-sick. It was in just such a gathering that He made a most profound yet obvious observation, “It is not those who are well who need a physician but those who are sick (Luke 5:31).” The self-righteous like a little space between them and the unrighteous lest they, too, become infected. Jesus did not come just to socialize and diagnose them; He came with the right medication to cure them.

He sought out the unrighteous to save them from the ruins of their lives. He called them to repentance. Those who are suffering from the ravages of sin cannot continue the course that got them into the mess to begin with. Doctors can prescribe the perfect medication, but the patient will never get well until they take it.

John the Baptist proclaimed the same course of action in preparing the way for the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2). Jesus did, too (Matthew 4:17). Peter did not waver in declaring the identical necessity in addressing the pierced Jewish hearts (Acts 2:38). Paul struck the same chord with the philosophical bunch in Athens plus the added incentive of judgment (Acts 17:30- 31). No one can stay on the wrong road and get to the right place.

Christians are children of God. That relationship is not destroyed because we wander off into the darkness, but we must not choose to stay there. The prodigal son felt lower than a servantmwhen he decided to head for home. His father had a totally different perspective. He was waiting, looking with a heart filled with grace and love. He called him “son” and threw a party. There is joy in heaven when a misdirected family member repents (Luke 15). The older brother resented it. Grace for prodigals can be hard to take for the “righteous.” It seems unfair. It isn’t.

We have all been the beneficiary of the grace of God. Not a single person in all of history could be saved without it, and Jesus is ready to intercede at a moment’s notice for the guilty. He invites us to come when we need it the most (Hebrews 4:14-16). Whenever we find ourselves in the pigpen, come back to the throne. Grace and mercy are waiting there.

Joe Hall from Agape will be speaking during Bible class and worship