JULY 21 - …AND RIGHT FOCUS

 And when the religious leaders saw Jesus was spending time with the worst people; very bad folks, they asked the people following Him, “why?” Jesus heard the question, and told them, “Because they are the people who need me.” (Matthew 9:11-12)

                  It is a lot of fun to invest in the best. They catch on quickly, make you look good as they perform well, and they are likely to be people whose company you enjoy. But, those best people may not be the ones who need you today. God may be asking you to invest in the hard cases for a while. Will you do that? Can you even allow that He may use one of your worst people, or one of the least from your perspective – to teach you something?

                   Jesus said He did only what the Father told Him to do (John 5:19). This decision assured He would always focus on the right person, and He would see them as they are – what they need. Those bad people needed to know they had a place at God’s table. The religious leaders needed to recognize their value as well. Jesus focused His love and care on the powerless. He encouraged the powerful to use their power well; most often this included instructions to be caring and generous to the weak.

                   With the many demands on your time and focus, be sure that you too are doing only what God leads, so you will always have the right person as your focus too.