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SHAKE THE SALT
''...This man welcomes sinners...'' Luke 15:2
Jesus upset a lot of people. Mainly the faithless flock of Pharisees, who didn't take too kindly at the thought of prostitutes or tax collectors entering the Kingdom of Heaven before them.
Read about it for yourself in Matthew 21. Why did He love them? He said, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." (Mark 2:17 NLT) The high priests and leaders who Jesus was talking to refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and rejected Him and what He said.
Meanwhile, the sinners believed, knew they needed Him and spent every minute with Him soaking up his every word. Jesus made sinners and outcasts of society welcome at the dinner table with Him. They loved being around Him and Jesus showed them that life would taste better being with Him and living like Him. He accepted invitations into their homes and got involved in their lives.
Jesus says we as His followers are, 'The salt of the earth'. Just like Him, He wants us to be like salt shakers around the table, bringing the first flavour of a new life in Christ into everyone's lives.
What now? Maybe you haven't got many non-Christian friends in your life or you want more. See what community stuff is going on in your church, or local area, that you could get involved with.
written by Bob Gass
''...This man welcomes sinners...'' Luke 15:2
Jesus upset a lot of people. Mainly the faithless flock of Pharisees, who didn't take too kindly at the thought of prostitutes or tax collectors entering the Kingdom of Heaven before them.
Read about it for yourself in Matthew 21. Why did He love them? He said, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." (Mark 2:17 NLT) The high priests and leaders who Jesus was talking to refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and rejected Him and what He said.
Meanwhile, the sinners believed, knew they needed Him and spent every minute with Him soaking up his every word. Jesus made sinners and outcasts of society welcome at the dinner table with Him. They loved being around Him and Jesus showed them that life would taste better being with Him and living like Him. He accepted invitations into their homes and got involved in their lives.
Jesus says we as His followers are, 'The salt of the earth'. Just like Him, He wants us to be like salt shakers around the table, bringing the first flavour of a new life in Christ into everyone's lives.
What now? Maybe you haven't got many non-Christian friends in your life or you want more. See what community stuff is going on in your church, or local area, that you could get involved with.
written by Bob Gass
