Willing to Love the Unlovely
This week in our series, we are approaching the calling of the disciples and the true cost it required of them to truly follow Jesus. Let’s pray.
Dear God, thank You for Your love and grace. Thank You for using my story and for always seeing what no one else sees. Do a work in me today as I open Your word and spend purposed time with You. Amen.
Mark 2:13-16 (NLT)
13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
My guess is that if you have a relationship with God, He has called you to do something out of the ordinary once or twice. When we walk the life of discipleship, we are often prompted by the Holy Spirit to see people differently. Have you ever asked God to help you see with eyes like His?
The cost of following Jesus often leads us into unknown territory, places that are outside of our comfort zone. We must view this scripture in context and with a culturally accurate perspective. Levi was a tax collector; on the social ladder, he was the lowest of the low, and Jesus called him directly from his station to follow Him and be His disciple. We begin to see that this is what true discipleship looks like. Is there someone in your life that you would classify as “unlovely”?
In my past, I have had relationships with others who I truly struggled to treat with grace. It was not until I genuinely asked the Holy Spirit to open my eyes and change my heart that I began to see these people just as our Heavenly Father does; children of God, homesick, lost, and in need of love. We all have a story. Everyone on earth has the opportunity to bring God glory and honor by letting Him use their story, no matter what they have walked through or done. In what way can you challenge yourself to love those who are outside your social circles?
Ask God to help you with the following prayer prompt:
Heavenly Father, I ask you to change my perspective…
I pray your heart shifts and your eyes are opened to see the value of every story working for the kingdom. Go in love!
Dear God, thank You for Your love and grace. Thank You for using my story and for always seeing what no one else sees. Do a work in me today as I open Your word and spend purposed time with You. Amen.
Mark 2:13-16 (NLT)
13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
My guess is that if you have a relationship with God, He has called you to do something out of the ordinary once or twice. When we walk the life of discipleship, we are often prompted by the Holy Spirit to see people differently. Have you ever asked God to help you see with eyes like His?
The cost of following Jesus often leads us into unknown territory, places that are outside of our comfort zone. We must view this scripture in context and with a culturally accurate perspective. Levi was a tax collector; on the social ladder, he was the lowest of the low, and Jesus called him directly from his station to follow Him and be His disciple. We begin to see that this is what true discipleship looks like. Is there someone in your life that you would classify as “unlovely”?
In my past, I have had relationships with others who I truly struggled to treat with grace. It was not until I genuinely asked the Holy Spirit to open my eyes and change my heart that I began to see these people just as our Heavenly Father does; children of God, homesick, lost, and in need of love. We all have a story. Everyone on earth has the opportunity to bring God glory and honor by letting Him use their story, no matter what they have walked through or done. In what way can you challenge yourself to love those who are outside your social circles?
Ask God to help you with the following prayer prompt:
Heavenly Father, I ask you to change my perspective…
I pray your heart shifts and your eyes are opened to see the value of every story working for the kingdom. Go in love!
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My Only AimRun to WinSetting Aside the Good for the BestDon’t Lose HeartFight the Good FightReflecting on Finishing Well…Not The Year But LifeLook UpPurposed in My HeartA Life of PrayerTo the Left or to the Right Seeking Godly CounselThe Word of the LordReflecting on Looking UpLooking BackGod is FaithfulSpiritual EyesRememberWorthy of PraiseThrough All GenerationsReflecting on Looking BackLook DownMoments of TruthThink It ThroughGod-Centered DecisionsLive Without Regrets Heartbreaking HindsightReflecting on Looking DownLooking ForwardA Solemn WarningSeeking God’s WillLearning What Is Good
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Thank you so much for your faithfulness in posting these devotionals. God truly works in you and through you to encourage us and direct us to love and bless others.