On our car ride to church we heard a sermon from Lon Solomon head pastor of McLean Bible Church on the radio. He talked about Matthew (Levi) and tax collectors. The scum of society and how Jesus reached out to them.

It’s interesting how even the religious teachers looked down on “those” people. Jesus responded with a remark that surprised even his own people.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax
collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed
him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors
and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw
this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors
and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not
sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew
9:9-13)

Jesus calls people to “Follow Me” and this call is not just a call for the upright, moral citizens… He calls all people, from all walks of life, from all professions and calls them to follow him. This following is not one time thing, it is not a once a week thing… it’s not even Monday through Friday. Jesus call to follow him is a lifetime thing. A following that requires supernatural power in order for it to succeed.

We look at our lives and can be tempted to judge others or look down on others because they don’t match up to us. But what Jesus desires is true worship from his people. People who would follow the shepherd just because he calls us. We are to not look at the sinners around us, but we are to look at our shepherd who leads us and guides us. That is what following is about and that is his call to each and every person.

My prayer is that Jesus would call you to follow and that you would hear it and follow.