20Jan17

Mark 2:17
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Recently I have been obsessed with the song "Heathens" by 21 Pilots. The main lyric is, "All my friends are heathens take it slow. Wait for them to ask you who you know. Please don't make any sudden moves. You don't know the half of the abuse." It just resonates so deeply with what we deal with in the Army on a frequent basis. I have been surprised by the level of monstrous experiences that many Soldiers have overcome, or are working on overcoming, to get to where they are today. Often I am convicted that, given the chance, Jesus would rather hang out with some of them than me. It is what drove me to the Army in the first place. I often will say, "I joined the Army, not the girl scouts." But, as Christians we are so eager to make sinners act like saints. We are so quick to group up and spend our time only with the like-minded in our lives. The problem with that is Jesus. All His friends were heathens and He loved them, respected them, even honored them. It's the most effective way to share the love with the world... act like He did. Who are your friends? Are you a loving influence in their lives?