July 24, 2018 – Mark 2:13-15

When Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. Mark 2:13-15.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus saw in Levi, a tax collector when He chose him as His disciple?  If Jesus didn’t know then, He knew later.  His disciples were invited, along with Jesus, to eat with Levi in his home with many tax collectors and sinners.  

When Jesus beckons us to follow Him, will we respond like Levi?  Or is it easier to make excuses to ignore the invitation or procrastinate? Could we make the changes in our hearts needed?  Or do we think we are good the way we are?

We do not have any idea how we offend our Lord God with our sinfulness.  God meets us where we are. Becoming righteous is a process of learning to love Jesus, moment by moment.  We face many challenges but the most enduring question in life is, What will we do with Jesus?

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”  John 14:6-7.

But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “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 2:16-17.