A Friend Of Sinners
A FRIEND OF SINNERS
Read Matthew 9:10-13.
“You didn’t invite Joy Blackburn to go to Sunday school with us, did you?” Tiffany already knew the answer before Mom nodded. “Ooohhhh, Mom!” she wailed. “Joy talks loud and is so crude. She’s everything you tell me not to be. I’m surprised you would want me to be friends with her.” Tiffany picked up a knife and began to peel potatoes for dinner.
“I don’t want you to be friends with her in the sense that you do what she does,” said Mom, “but I want you to be kind to her.”
“Ooohhhh!” Tiffany gasped. “I cut my hand!”
Mom grabbed a clean cloth and pressed it tightly against the cut. After examining it, she decided she had better take Tiffany to the emergency room. There a doctor stitched and bandaged Tiffany’s hand. Soon they were ready to go home. “Oh dear, we’ve made quite a mess,” Mom exclaimed as she looked around the room.
“Don’t worry about that,” the nurse said kindly. “We just want your daughter’s hand to heal.”
That evening Tiffany showed her father the bandaged hand. “We got blood all over the emergency room, but they didn’t even care,” she told him. “They were just concerned about me.”
Dad smiled. “That’s what hospitals are for—to take care of the sick and hurting.”
“Something like church,” mused Mom. “The church is a good place for hurting people who need Jesus. What if hospitals only allowed well people in?”
Tiffany sighed. “You’re talking about Joy, I know. And you’re right, Mom. I’m glad she’s going to church with us.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you invite only nice or cool kids to go to church with you? This week look for kids who might feel left out, and invite them to church with you.
TO MEMORIZE:
I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.
Luke 5:32
THE CHURCH IS FOR SINNERS.
From the book
