40 DAYS in the GOSPEL Sample

ADJUSTING YOUR PRIORITIES

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

Looking for a lost child is an intense and scary experience. As you move quicker than everyone else around you, looking around and calling out their name, it can be hard for bystanders to feel the same urgency that you do. It can be frustrating seeing a crowd of faces that do not understand that you are looking for someone you love.

Jesus experienced this kind of misunderstanding from the religious authorities of His day. It seems like the Pharisees had fallen into thinking that when Messiah appeared it would be to check and see that they had kept all the right rules and deserved to be a part of the graduating class. When Jesus emphasized seeking and finding those who were lost, it confused and angered them.

I (Josiah) have been there! When God directs my attention to someone new to the faith and struggling, I can think to myself: I don’t have time for this. When my unbelieving neighbors who live on my street continue to act like people who don’t know God, I can get angry and avoid them. I can get discouraged and tired of setting a good example for my children and pointing them towards Christ daily. All these attitudes and more are showing me that I have fallen out of step with Jesus.

So, what do I do? I think Jesus was giving the Pharisees in this passage a chance to see how they had gotten off track. He is speaking to us as well. A sign of the kind of righteousness that pleases God is a heart that wants to see those far from Him come home. Looking at John 3:16 we see that is the whole reason He sent His Son to us.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Do I want to be in right-standing with God? Do I want to be more like His Son Jesus? Then I need to remember the days when I was so far from Him and could not find my way home, and He sent His people looking for me. Not because I was a prize or because He needed my help, but because I was lost, and He loved me!

PRAY ABOUT IT: Talk with God about your priorities and what people you have been intentionally seeking out or avoiding. Do your priorities match those of the Lord who came looking for you? If not, ask the Father to restore your first love for Him and those who are lost.