9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:9-13
I love that Matthew makes a life-altering decision to leave behind his business and his past in order to follow Jesus.
THEN, he throws a party with all of his “far from Jesus” friends so they can meet Jesus.
How about you? As you fast from something for someone, what if you plan a party with some friends from church and some friends who don’t go to church? And it doesn’t even have to be a Bible study.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle for your friends to meet Jesus is meeting other people that know him. They need to know there are other people who are normal and go to church (besides you of course!)
Jesus, will you help put the right people at a gathering so my non-Christian friends can meet my Christian friends and inevitably meet you.