Err on the Side of Love
I like to think about the story of Matthew in the New Testament.
Matthew was a Jew working for the Roman government as a tax collector. He collected money from poor people to pay a government that occupied their land and profited from it. He also could collect more than was expected to give himself a little bit on the side. So, as can be imagined, he was not anybody's favorite person in the Jewish community.
In Luke 5:27 - 32, we see the story of how Jesus called Matthew to be one of his apostles. Because Matthew was a literate person, Jesus could have written him a letter with three bullet points on why he should be an apostle. Jesus could have delivered a persuasive speech to inspire Matthew to become one of his followers. To appeal to his sense of accounting and finance, Jesus could have presented the financial picture of his ministry. But he did none of these things, because he was addressing his heart.
He only said two words: "Follow me."
Matthew's feelings that had beat him down -- of not belonging, of not being loved by his family, of being ridiculed by his own people -- were wiped away with these two words from the Master.
Instead of not belonging, there was inclusion. Where there was no love, love now existed. Belonging to a group of people that existed solely because of Jesus' love for them.
Matthew left everything and followed him.
But he did throw a big party at his house, invited his tax collector friends and Jesus and his followers. They were eating and drinking, and I know they were having a big time, because they drew the Pharisees' attention. (Pharisees = religious leaders who were big rule-keepers.) The Pharisees knew that Jesus knew the Law and, most likely had seen him preaching, either in the synagogue or in public. So they asked him, "Why are you hanging out with tax collectors and sinners? They're pretty much the worst." What they implied was that they, as "religious" leaders, would never have done anything like this.
Jesus' amazing response: "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 and need to repent."
Friends, you may have a relative or a friend who would not "fit in" with the religious rules of our day. In our minds, the choices they make stamp a big "NOT LIKE US" on their foreheads, and that stamp creates barriers to love and friendship.
I would plead with you to be like Jesus in every situation with this friend. Go to dinner with this friend. Be a friend. Care about their lives like Jesus would, and truly care about this person as a person, not as a spiritual project that you take on to make yourself feel better about how righteous you are. You can't go wrong caring about someone. If you feel like you've made a mistake, I would ask that you err on the side of love.
In the story of Matthew, we don't see where Jesus told him that what he was doing was wrong and if he were any kind of Jew he would stop extorting people today. He just said, "Follow me." Friends, I pray that you would consider how you can show the love that draws people to repentance; not because you are so holy, but because God is holy and can do much with your faithfulness.
Can I pray for you?
Jesus, I thank you for your holiness and your righteousness, and how your sacrifice on the cross counted for me. I am dirty, filthy rags without your righteousness. Help me to love. Really, truly love people that are like me and not like me; use me to bring people to repentance and a saving knowledge of you. You created me to bring glory to your name and I humbly ask that every word spoken and action taken would reflect the love that you've shown me and how much grace and mercy you've extended to me. I pray that you would search me, know my heart, and point out all the wicked ways my heart operates. I praise your name because you are love and you love me in all of my need. In Jesus' name, amen.
Reflect and Respond
1.Take a week and daily journal a prayer that starts with Psalm 139:23. Write this verse out and then listen for how God speaks to you.. Write down something for each day. Pray that God would show you the parts of your heart that you may not be willing to admit or talk about.
2.Make a list of friends/relatives/neighbors that, to your knowledge, do not have a saving knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ. Beside each name, write down a way that you can get to know them better. Use this list over the next weeks and months to build a relationship with this person as a person.
3. Spend at least 5 minutes being quiet and still and listening to hear what God has to say to you. If it's hard for you to be quiet and still (like me), Craig Groeschel once said that he gets quiet and still by going outside and listening for up to 20 different, unique sounds. Try it. You can start with 5 sounds. But it really helps to get quiet and still and in a listening mode.
