when you know you're a sinner

Jesus talks to us today about sinners. It's a theme carried from the Old Testament reading, where the Levitical laws about what to do when you sin unintentionally are delineated. But Jesus helps us see the difference in types of sin even more clearly.

He calls Levi to follow Him as His disciple. Levi was a known sinner - a despised tax collector. But Jesus called Him, just as He calls all of us, fully aware of his sin, and prepared to deal with it. Levi was aware of his sin and of his need for a savior.

In come the Pharisees. Now, I don't mean to bag on all Pharisees. There WERE some good ones. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a voting member of the Sanhedrin, were both good men. But the ones we hear from in this story were unaware of their own sin. They knew of the sins of the men Jesus was eating with, and they accused Jesus Himself of sin. They saw the sin in everyone but themselves.

That's the key distinction, it seems. We need to be keenly aware of our own sin, and give grace and forgiveness to everyone else for theirs. This is the heart of what it means to love.

God, please teach us to deal with sin - especially our own - with the love that you demonstrate.