Jesus: The God Who Knows Your NameChikamu

Friend of Sinners 

I think Jesus was the type of guy who was always invited to the party (see John 2—before Jesus performed any miracles). I suppose Jesus was invited because people liked him. He took the time to engage with people. His faith made him likable, not detestable. Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk? No. He called people by name, listened to their stories, and answered their questions. He went to enough parties that he was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds. Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same (see John 10:10).

Jesus was a likable fellow and his disciples should be the same. I’m not endorsing compromise, coarseness, or obscenity. I am simply crusading for the freedom to enjoy a good joke, enliven a dull party, and appreciate a fun evening. When Jesus called Matthew, a reviled tax collector, Matthew threw a party and Jesus and his disciples went and met all of Matthew’s friends—people just like Matthew. Jesus must have been beaming. Sinners and saints in the same room, and no one’s trying to determine who is which. 

How does God want us to respond to people like Matthew and his friends? Ignore them? Share a meal with them? Leave the room when they enter? Ask them to leave so we can stay? Discuss our differences? Dismiss our differences? Argue? I wonder if the best answer might be found in Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (NIV). This is the same manner in which Jesus accepts and welcomes us (see John 14:3). 

What if you are like Matthew? I know how Jesus treated me, a twenty-year-old troublemaker on a downhill path, in spite of a commitment to Christ a decade earlier. He accepted me, his wayward child. Jesus doesn’t gloss over our sinful behavior, but he accepts us and knows what he could do with us. Jesus extends grace to come as we are, and speaks truth that helps us become what he sees in us.

John 3:16 says that Jesus came for whoever believes in him. The word whoever sledgehammers racial fences and dynamites social classes. It bypasses gender borders and surpasses ancient traditions. God exports his grace worldwide. Jesus illustrated that God was more concerned about bringing everyone in than shutting certain people out. We are always invited to Jesus’ party! 

Jesus wants the world to know that a person is worth something simply because he or she is a person. Jesus shows us this through his acceptance of the Samaritan woman at the well, Zacchaeus, and the crook on the cross beside him. Why does Jesus accept you? Jesus’ love does not depend on what you do for him, but because you have value simply because you exist. Your value is inborn. The next time someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy, just think about the way Jesus honors you . . . and smile. I know I don’t deserve love like that. None of us do. But I smile because I know that giving Jesus a prayer is all I have, and that is all it takes.

Respond

How do you tend to measure the value of a person? What keeps you from engaging with people who Jesus loves and accepts?

What does it mean for you to have freedom from the guilt of your sin?

How does receiving grace and truth from Jesus change you and your relationship with him?