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Matthew 9:9-13 <- Click to read now
Yesterday I made the statement, “When we focus more on what we know about someone than the potential for God to work in their lives, we miss the mark.” In today’s passage, the Pharisees were doing just that. They focused so much on what they knew about Matthew and these others, that they missed the way God was working in their lives because of Jesus.
In their disdain of Matthew, they solidified their rejection of Jesus even more. They neglected to see how this not only impacted their ability to love their neighbor, but it also impacted their ability to truly love God. Now That, is missing the mark.
We can fall into the same trap, whether it’s through the same kind of feelings as these Pharisees, or it’s through jealousy, or some other negative feeling toward another person, it tarnishes our ability to truly love God and our ability to truly know Jesus.
About a week ago, I heard someone use the phrase, “See as Jesus sees, and you will love as Jesus loves.” I think that statement works perfect with today’s reading. Jesus saw something these Pharisees didn’t, and God was glorified because of what Jesus saw. Matthew, and likely many of his friends, were forever changed because of what Jesus saw, too. May we see what Jesus sees, love as Jesus loves, and continue to point others to our Lord and Savior. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, help us to see as Jesus sees, help us to love as he loves, and help us to bear witness to Your love for the world. May we continue to grow closer with Jesus to know him more, and may we help others to know Jesus so they might experience new life in him. Amen.