Sick
“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:27-32
You feel kind of off, something isn’t right but you just can’t put your finger on it. You try everything but nothing seems to be working. You have to realize you are sick to figure out the solution. You realize you have the flu so only flu medicine will work, not everything else you had been trying.
As soon as you realize you have the flu though and there is a solution, you will do whatever it takes to not have the flu right? If a loved one was sick, you would do anything to heal them as well right? Sometimes we might even go to drastic measures to get the solution if necessary.
Well we are sick. We are sinful. Our loved ones are sick. Our loved ones are sinful. But we have to realize we are sick, we have to realize we are sinful to realize we need a savior.
Are you willing to say, “I am sick, I am sinful. You don’t owe me a good life. I need a savior?” Recognizing our sinfulness is a prerequisite to following Jesus but you also have to have a realization that God is a gracious doctor who sent Jesus to heal the sick, to be our savior.
Jesus went to the tax collectors house. He ate with him, a sinner. Jesus pursues the sick and the sinners to be his disciples, to share his gospel. Jesus chose to pursue us, sinners, even when we didn’t do anything, even when our sin was still in the future. WHAT??
If you understand that Jesus chooses to pursue us with sin still in our future, that God is never disappointed in us when our faith is in Jesus, if you really understand this, it changes EVERYTHING.