Luke 5:27-32

When does He sleep? It seems that no matter what time we arrive in the morning He has already left, and now, since everyone has heard that He is in town, He accepts invitations to parties that last until the wee hours of the morning. He’s tireless.

As pastors, we try to invite Him to our Bible studies and prayer meetings, but He politely refuses, saying, “I’ve got to be at a party tonight at 8:00, but you guys can come with me if you like.”

As soon as He tells us where the party is we begin to squirm. It is not the kind of place we would want any of our church members to see us in. We console ourselves with the thought that hopefully none of the members of our church will be there; but some of us know better.

“Jesus, we know you are new to town, but do you know what kind of place this is? It is a place where everyone will be drunk by 10:00, and the second hand smoke will kill you!” Jesus says quietly, in a firm voice, “Follow me: Do what I do. Go where I go. Love like I love.”

Not only did Jesus go to this party, but He was the life of it. He laughed and played, and genuinely enjoyed Himself while He was there. Everyone in the room gravitated to Him. And with the jukebox blaring, and the overwhelmingly garish lighting, He gathered everyone around and told a story that stunned us. As a pastor I felt the sting of rebuke. Everyone got quiet. He began: “The kingdom of God is like…”

“A very wealthy man who was able to purchase anything He wanted. He and his wife however harbored a deep sadness in their lives. They had never been able to have children. They traveled to the South Texas Children’s Home to make arrangements to adopt two children; a boy and a girl.

The staff of the children’s home began to present some of their most “worthy” prospects to the couple, having no understanding of the couple’s intentions. The couple explained, “We want to adopt two children that no one else wants”, “In fact, we want to adopt the boy and girl that are the most troubled of any of your children, those that everyone else has given up on.”

“Sir, you don’t understand,” the staff explained. “Those would be two of our older teens. They struggle with alcohol, drugs and have sometimes threatened suicide. They come from violent families; and are likely to cause you grief and will probably end up in prison.”

“Yes, those are the ones we want to pour our love on. Those that have never experienced it. Those that know they don’t deserve it. Those who are on the road to destruction. They may not choose us, but we choose them!”