“While Jesus was having dinner at
Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ came and ate with him and
his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does
your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?’ On hearing this, Jesus
said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the
righteous but sinners.”
“Here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners –of whom
I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the
worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an
example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”
Christ came, not to give those who
felt they were righteous their reward, but to show mercy to those who knew they
were sinners. He did not come to give pats on the back to those who were
following all of His commands, but to save the lost. Whether we know it or not,
the lost is every single one of us without Christ. Each of us are the worst of
sinners whom Christ has shown His mercy upon. As Christians, we are not set
apart by leading perfect lives –only Christ can lead a truly perfect life—but by
the love and mercy that reflects in our lives through our growing relationship
with Him.
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