Luke 5-6
About four years ago, the very influential biblical teacher and evangelist Billy Graham passed away. When his passing occurred, actress and then Morning Show host Kathie Lee Gifford commented on her friendship with him and said, “My whole family came to know the Lord through the Billy Graham organization… I personally did [follow Christ], going to the first movie the Billy Graham Organization ever put out called “The Restless Ones”, and it’s like God met me and my heart where I lived. I wanted to be an actress so where does God meet me? In a movie theater”.
I think there is power in how each of our stories expresses the tangible and transformative ways that God pursues us and calls us back to him. I’ve personally heard countless stories of people meeting Jesus in the midst of their drug addiction, in party culture, through their job, science, and more. In Luke 5-6 we see this same characteristic of God as Jesus meets others exactly where they are. He meets Simon Peter on his boat (Luke 5:3-8) as he teaches and then instructs them to let out their nets for a catch. He approaches the man with Leprosy and touches him in order to heal him (Luke 5:12-15). He goes to Levi’s booth and Jesus instructs him to follow him back to Levi’s home where they eat together (Luke 5:27-32). He enters the synagogue and heals the man with a withered hand (Luke 6: 6-11). But those stories do not just hold the stories of God’s pursuit, but also how Jesus healed them and transformed them. Just as Jesus healed and redeemed the hearts of the broken, the sinners, with laborers or unwanted he also is pursuing you - no matter your past, reputation, or can keep you from God.
But that’s not only where the story ends, but is all with the perspective that the love we receive is also love to be given. We are called to love our enemies (Luke 6: 27-35). We are called to love our enemy who has different values, beliefs, and perspectives. We are called to love our enemy who has a broken past. We are called to love our enemy who may be an old friend, our co-worker, or new acquaintance. Jesus’ pursuit of others in now through us by the power of the Holy Spirit and it comes with the submission to our old way in place of the new.
So as you reflect, ask these questions:
Where did Jesus meet you?
How did you experience transformation?
How does God want to use you to meet others exactly where they are?
