How Far Are We Willing To Go?

And 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 the 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 ESV

We find something absolutely amazing in Jesus' calling of Levi to be one of His disciples.  Jesus was willing to go where He was most needed.  Jesus saw the value of a soul, no matter what walk of life that soul came from.  This leads us to a very important question that we must ask ourselves.  How far are we willing to go to share Jesus with someone else?

Levi was a tax collector, and they were considered the scum of the earth by the Jewish people.  Those that were religious would have definitely looked down on them.  However, when Jesus saw Levi, He didn't see scum, but rather He saw a soul.  When you and I pass by those that our society looks down on, what do we see?  Do we see inconveniences?  Do we see problems?  We should see people that Jesus loves just as much as he loves us.  We should see that people in our culture are hurting and desperately wanting someone to love them unconditionally.

Unfortunately, too many in our churches today are not willing to go very far to share Jesus with those in their community.  We have our Christian friends, our Christian music, our Christian outings, and a host of other things that keep us isolated from the very people we are supposed to be sharing Jesus with.  How many friendships do you have with those that are non-believers?  How much time to do you spend around other Christians versus the amount of time that you spend with those that are non-believers?  I can't help but wonder how Jesus would be received, if at all, by many of our churches today because of the company that He kept.

I truly believe that our community, and our entire culture, is starving for the Body of Christ to rise up and show them the unconditional love of Jesus.  God as really dealt with my heart that I want to go as far as necessary to share the love of Jesus with others in our community.  What about you?  How far are you willing to go?

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. - 1 John 4:11 ESV