Yesterday my wife was visiting an elementary school and while she was washing her hands she said to a little girl, “We wash our hands to kill germs so we don’t get sick. We get sick from germs.” The little girl responded, “I have a cold but I didn’t get it from germs. I got it from my cousin.”
And so we are confronted with a dilemma created by Jesus. A. Birds of a feather flock together. It’s an old adage that is supported by massive amounts of data. And B. “This man eats with publicans and sinners” is an accurate description of Jesus’ friends and activities. How does a person like you and me, well at least me, hope to be like Jesus and associate with publicans and sinners and not catch their habits, their vocabulary and their attitudes? We catch all manner of thought patterns and outlooks via the conversations with have with others. Thus we are told by our parents to be careful with whom we make friends.
This also points out the necessity for spending time each day with Jesus via His word. Studying the life of Christ should whet our appetites for wholesome intellectual input. There is the issue of the inner presence of the Holy Spirit. That is a huge help in educating us. So often we use the text about training up a child in the way he should go in regards to our children. In God’s eyes we are His children so it doesn’t matter how old we are. We need to be training ourselves in the way we should go.
Then there is the issue that most publicans and sinners don’t want to be bothered with someone who doesn’t join in. They might catch something from us. (Isn’t this a smug devotional? I’m assuming we are not publicans and sinners. Alas, what a self-deceived snob I can be.)
Written by Roger Bothwell on March 14, 2014
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org