September 1, 2004

A Friend Of Sinners

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. —Luke 5:32

Bible In One Year: Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

Jesus was having dinner one evening when "many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him" (Matthew 9:10). The religious leaders of that day were outraged by His behavior. Their conclusion was that Jesus was a friend of sinners, and as it turns out, He was. "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Jesus was morally separate from sinners and never took part in their lifestyle. Yet He did not separate Himself physically from sinful people. He spent time with them and became their friend.

Just like Jesus, you and I can't help but rub shoulders with all kinds of people in our daily activities. Tertullian, an early Roman writer, described the relationships between the Christians and non-Christians of his day this way: "We live among you, eat the same food, wear the same clothes . . . . We sojourn with you in the world, renouncing neither forum, nor market, nor bath, nor booth, nor workshop, nor inn . . . . We till the ground with you, we join with you in business ventures."

We too must seek the lost, as Jesus did—and it doesn't take much effort. It's good to ask ourselves from time to time, "How many friends do I have who are lost?" —David Roper

Lead me to some soul today,
O teach me, Lord, just what to say;
Friends of mine are lost in sin
And cannot find their way. —Houghton
© 1936, 1964 Hope Publishing Co.

To be a friend of Jesus is to be a friend of sinners.