Who Do You Welcome Into Your Fellowship?
By Roger Lovette
For two thousand years, we have been trying to define the church. This struggle to understand the nature of the body of Christ has led to great confusion, schism and the creation of a multitude of denominations. At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, (2:13-17) the writer presents a clear understanding of Jesus’ work and ministry.
Jesus called unlikely people to participate in His ministry. Mark states boldly that Levi was a tax collector. Jewish tax collectors were despised and hated by the Israelites because they worked for their captors, the Romans. This made the tax collector the enemy. Many of them cheated their own people and lined their pockets with extorted money. It is understandable that the religious authorities challenged Jesus’ action.But this wasn’t the end. In the very next sentence Jesus expanded the circle. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. This further frustrated the scribes and Pharisees. Why did he associate with such riffraff? Jesus’ answer was succinct. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners." (2:17)The church then, is like the Emergency Room in a hospital. The ER is a messy place. It opens its doors 24-hours a day to whomever comes. The sick, the troubled — sometimes the confused — wander into the hospital. Lives are saved in ER units. After two thousand years, Jesus still reminds us that the church ought to be very much like a hospital. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."
Dr. Roger Lovette is an author and pastor of the Baptist Church of the Covenant in downtown Birmingham, AL. He is an MTM Trustee.
This article is reprinted from Reflections with permission from Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.