Heart For The Lost.

Read Mark 2:13-17...
"Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

One thing we can take away from this passage is that Jesus had an unbelievable heart for the lost, which compelled Him to engage with them. We so desperately need to develop a heart for the lost. In the words of Josh Storie at Ignite last night, the Pharisees were "studs" or what we would call "solid." But despite their judgment and questioning, Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, which dumbfounded the Pharisees. 

Jesus came for the sick and broken. If we want to be people whose lives look like Jesus, we must develop a heart for the lost. There is a need for balance in our Christian bubble. I have been searching for the right way to go about this balance ever since I can remember. Now, this doesn't mean completely neglecting our Christian communities and never talking to our friends again, but rather to step outside and to engage with lost people. This can be hard. It's hard for a lot of people. It can be scary. Maybe it's not your thing, maybe you won't know what to say. We know that at some point we are going to have to talk about our faith if we sit down with lost people, and that may intimidate us. We don't want to be forceful. 

The most important thing to remember is that we should have a heart for the lost, because we were lost. I know this is another long chunk of Scripture but definitely worth the read. Ephesians 2:4-10 says, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Paul is telling us that that used to be you, but something happened. By Grace we have been saved. God opened our eyes to our need for Him and our sin. We can connect with the lost because we have been there and we know what they're missing out on. Shouldn't we long for others to experience Him and the joy He brings? Don't not have a conversation with someone about the Gospel because you don't want to be pushy, it's one of the most unloving things you can do. Don't watch someone walk down a road that you know leads to death. Step outside your circle and talk to the lost. We let people blinded by their sin go down the wrong road all the time. We may not do it intentionally, but we still do it. Let your heart compel you to move and to get to know the lost. Do something. 

After worship last night my eyes were really opened to this concept. A concept that I've heard hundreds of times. While I sat in the Rec gym at school I realized what an awesome community of Believers I am able to be a part of and in fellowship with every week. Along with that I was able to see the many opportunities I have to go out and love the lost and share God's Grace with them, both amongst this community of Believers in my Christian bubble, and outside the confines of TCU. Gods joy reaches far beyond whatever bubble you may be in, and it is our job to share that with as many people as we can. 

Our experience with Christ should push us forward and propel us to look less like Christians and more like Jesus, 

Courtney