April 23, 2024

I remember years ago going out with a bunch of guys to get something to drink after a city league basketball game. I thought we’d go to a restaurant. We ended up going to a bar. When I was growing up, drinking alcohol was considered a huge sin, so I had never spent time in a bar. It was dark and smoky, and there was a lot of language that you normally don’t hear at church on Sunday. Even though I ordered a pitcher of Diet Coke, I remember feeling guilty. My legalistic upbringing was screaming in my ear that I was doing something wrong. I remember thinking, “Lord Jesus, PLEASE don’t come back tonight while I’m here!”
What’s funny is that Jesus would have been quite comfortable in there. In fact, He LIKED to go where sinners were. That was His favorite place to be! Our passage today reminds us of that. As Jesus walked along, He saw Levi sitting at his tax-collecting table. Instead of veering a long way around him, as I’m sure many of the Jews did, Jesus walks right up to his table. Yes, the very table where I’m guessing Levi cheated people from time to time. Yes, the very place where Levi threatened people, cussed at people, and scoffed at people. Tax collectors had to be a pretty tough, calloused group to do what they did. But Jesus wasn’t afraid of Levi. He wasn’t intimidated by his reputation. He wasn’t bothered by Levi’s language, manner, or sin. He met Levi right where he was. And He gave him the chance to live a different life.
Camp on that thought for a while. Jesus, the Righteous One, is willing to meet us right where we are. Right there in the bar as we drink to forget. Right there at the casino where we’ve just gambled away our family’s grocery money. Right there at our computer with our porn. Right there in our rage as we scream at our loved ones. Right there in that hallway where we just shredded someone’s reputation with our juicy piece of gossip. Jesus isn’t intimidated by our sin because His Grace is greater than our sin. His Light is greater than our darkness. And His Future is greater than our past. Our lives can be different today, just like Levi’s. Because Jesus is here to meet us right where we are. That’s God’s Word for you today.