I Have Come to call Sinners

Mark 1:22-26, "The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 'What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!' 'Be quiet!' said Jesus sternly. 'Come out of him!' The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek." Jesus didn't let the demons tell others who He was. Why? Maybe He was wanting people to see the deed, not just hear the words. Also, while the demons were telling the truth, they mix lies with their truth. This makes what they say hard to decipher, the truth (reality) from false testimony. When I first started to see my own sin for what it really was, and when I first wanted to change my life; I did not tell anyone about my past. It was hard learning who I was, and how I was supposed to act, now that I had decided to follow Christ. I had a period of refuge from my sin and everyone seeing the true faults in me. I wasn't hiding from reality and I was not covering up my sin; I was learning to walk with Him all over again. I had a period of grace, but in that period I found the love of Christ.

Many people who make "big sins" in their lives are not given the grace period that I was given. They stay in the same town and try to continue their lives with the same people that watched them fall. I cannot imagine the hurt that this would cause. When we see someone sinning and not turning from their sin, it is biblical to separate ourselves from them for a time. This is not so that we can cast judgment upon them, but to bring them back to the love of God. It is a time where the only one they can go to, is Jesus Christ Himself. Their friends are taken away, and they feel the shame of their sin. But, after that period of time has ended, God's true forgiveness and grace is revealed. It is a time for the demons in their lives to be silenced, so that Christ can reveal His true power. Those lonely times of not having any friends are truly the hardest times. It doesn't matter that I had come here with a clean slate, as far as others were concerned, I still felt the sting of being all alone. I was left to myself, so that Christ could show me my sin. So that I could fall madly in love with Him, all over again.

1:40-41, '"If You want to, You can make me well again' ...Jesus touched him. 'I want to', He said. 'Be healed!'" 2:17, "Healthy people don't need a doctor- sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." Do you see this? Do you see that Christ has come to heal the sinner? Oh how I thank my God, for healing me. How I thank Him, for giving me a period when I had no one but Him to help me see my sin. How I thank Him, for allowing others to forgive me when I sinned. It can be so hard to hold your head up high, when everyone knows your sins. That is the moment for His strength to be felt, for I could not do it without Him. When this time of grace and forgiveness with God is finished, it becomes time to join with others and build new friendships and mend old ones. When this time has come others will see it, not by your words, but by your actions. When this time has come, it is our time as Christ followers to embrace the one who has been alone, and bring them back into the family of Christ. It is not our place to condemn, but to love. Do you need to feel the fellowship of believers around you again? Is it time to embrace one who has been sick? Where are you with your walk with Christ?