-Strnngth for Today- "As Jesus’ Purpose was in Life, so was it in His Death.” - Mark 2:13-17.

????Believers throughout church history “has been inspired by Scripture to reduce spiritual ethics to two lists known as:?"the seven deadly sins" and”?"the seven virtues of saintliness.”?The former includes?“pride,” “envy,” “anger,” sloth,” “greed,” “gluttony,?and?lust.”?The latter includes:?“wisdom,” “justice,” “courage,” “temperance,” “faith,” “love,”?and?“hope.”?

???Mahatma Gandhi, though not a Christian, perhaps due to what happen one Sunday morning when he decided that he’d visit one of the Christian churches in Calcutta. Upon seeking entrance to the church sanctuary, he was stopped at the door by the ushers. He was told?“he wasn’t welcome, nor would he be permitted to attend this particular church,”?as it was for?“high-caste Indians,”?and?“whites only.”?He was neither?“high caste,”?nor?“was he white.”?Because of this rejection,?“Mahatma turned his back on Christianity.”??

???But in spite of his rejection, He would later write s list of?"seven deadly sins,”?stated in the form of contrasts:?“wealth without work,” pleasure without conscience,” knowledge without character,” “commerce without morality,” “science without humanity,” “worship without sacrifice,”?and?“politics without principle.”?

The truth of the matter is that all have fallen short of God's glory and all are responsible to Him - Romans 3:23. All of us?“have committed-to one degree or another,”?some or all of?“the sins mentioned in the above lists."?"Each of us," as Isaiah said:?"...have turned to his/her own way"?-Isaiah 53:6. Matter of fact,?“every person on earth,”?go through?“a daily?tug-o-war with their conscience.”??

Burt in spite of it all,?“the love of God still flowed freely from Calvary's nail-pierced hands.”??So, even?“as Jesus?was in life,” “so was He was in death,?that is He was “surrounded by sinners.”?Even when He felt forsaken by His Father, there He was?“surrounded by sinners...?“the?two thieves.”?

During His ministry,?“the religious leaders criticized and rejected Him”?in large measure “because of the company he kept.” Jesus?was a friend of?“publicans,” “tax-collectors,” “prostitutes”?and?“sinners.” -?Mark 2:13-17! Jesus?“was more than just an acquaintance”?with the "down and dirty"?sinners of his day,?“He was their friend!”?

???Whatever you've done in life,?“there's no sin so great that God won’t forgive.” Because for that purpose He sent His Son – John 3:16. He knows how that all sinners needed the?“value of His mercy,”?for?all have sinned against Him,”?(Romans 3:10-12), but with Jesus, and a genuine faith in His finished work on Calvary we all have?“new beginnings” and?“fresh starts!”??So today,?won't you come?to?“the One?who spent His life with the likes of us and then gave Himself for us?” Jesus is?“the devout expression of His Father love,” and?“the Completer His Father’s purpose.” In Him, you’ll never be rejected.??

Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD

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