And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
The lesson we see in today's passage is definitely one we've seen before: essentially, help out those in need. A lot of times, we hear about reaching out to the "kid at school with no friends," or the "girl who eats by herself," and we feel nervous about these dramatic actions. But you don't have to reach out to a total stranger for your actions to be meaningful. I bet there's lots of people you call friends at school that are just outside your "close friends." You'll say hi to these people in the hallway, and ask the usual, "Hey, how's it going?" and everything's cool.
CHALLENGE: Next time you have one of these encounters, maybe today, or maybe Monday at school, I challenge you to show you're there for them. That doesn't mean you have to say, "Hey, man. I'm always here for you, whenever you need me." No, no, no... too dramatic. Just ask a 1 or 2 extra questions about their lives. Just by asking what they're looking forward to, what they're nervous about, what they enjoy doing, if there's anything they're really excited about, you really will make a difference -- trust me, that's all it takes.
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