I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners.
—Mark 2:17
Tara Lawton quit going to her health spa because she sensed she didn’t fit in. She was overweight and felt that the svelte were staring at her and judging her. So Tara joined a gym that was exclusively for people committed to losing at least fifty pounds.
Jesus reached out to religious misfits. Matthew was manning a tax booth when Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Tax collectors were spiritual outcasts. Matthew wouldn’t have been invited to a synagogue—and if he had been, he wouldn’t have gone; he would have felt as out of place as a rabbi at a cockfight. But Jesus named him one of the top twelve.
If you ever feel you’re not good enough to hang out with Jesus, remember that you’re the very one he came to seek and save.
If Jesus looked you in the eye and said,
“Follow me,” would you hesitate?