Birds Of A Feather

 

Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”

 

"But go and learn what this means: "I desire compassion, 'and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:10-13

 

My Mother warned me that "birds of a feather, stick together" meaning I should not make friends with kids who got into trouble, lest I become like them.   

 

However, as Christians, these are exactly the people who Jesus tells us to minister to.  I ask, "How is this supposed to work?"   

We are sometimes intimidated by people who are openly sinful.  We may think they are dangerous or we may be afraid that their sin will pollute our lives.  Both are legitimate fears.  However, we can minister to these individuals by following Jesus' model. 

We can take a friend or two along and meet in a public place.  We can stick to our message:  Jesus, Lord, Master and Savior.  We can offer prayer, no matter how the discussion goes.   

 

And, if things start going in a direction that does not look good to us, we can leave and go home.   

 

Jesus associated with sinners but did not imitate them, and so can we.