Church Official: Christ is fat, drunk, and just one of the guys

"And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

...And the Lord said 'Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation?...

...For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, 'He hath a devil.'

'The Son of man [Christ] is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber [a drunk], a friend of publicans and sinners!

'But wisdom is justified of all her children.'" Luke 7.29-31, 33-35

--------------------------

This passage has been an eye opener for me...

The religious leaders of the day accused Christ of being a "glutton, a drunk, and a friend of sinners."

They missed the reality that our relationships and fellowship with the lost, sick, and rejected are critical to our Gospel mission. They wanted him to minister and live as the religious of the day did, to associate only with other religious people, to eat and drink in ways that they had been limited to, to only visit homes and places they wanted him to go.

Instead they missed the entire point of Christ's ministry: seeing souls receive the Gospel.

Christ says that the "wisdom" in which he ministers will be "justified" by her "children" (by the results) in vs 35. He says this know what just happened in the verses preceding, vs 29, where "all the people that heard him," except the religious leaders, accepted the Gospel and were baptized. Christ's wisdom in choosing to eat and drink with the rejected, partying, lost crowd was justified by the work of the Gospel to change those lives.

Are we only ministering in safe ways? To only people like us? Only in places that our religious friends approve? Only in places that we are comfortable, places where we are not tempted?

This passage has hit me hard.

I should always be checking to see if my fear of temptation or fear of falling becomes a barrier to service. I know that Christ went to many unsavory homes and was tempted, but remained without sin. I'm not Christ, but I believe his willingness to go there is to show the capability of a spirit led life to over come temptation. I find it is often easier to fall in the places I am most comfortable rather than new or challenging places.

May I never become too spiritually refined that I would never be accused of associating with the lost. May I not do so much to avoid temptation that I avoid those that need Christ the most. May my faith in God's spirit of love, power and a sound mind be greater than fear of failure and accusations.

When people see me, may they see a student of the Great Physician ministering among the spiritual wounded and sick. May I have the boldness to enter, the humbleness to minister, and the discernment to live a balanced life.

I will not be justified in the end by what I didn't eat or drink, but by the work of the Gospel in the lives around me.

Learning to be uncomfortable for Christ.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for sharing you're thoughts!