Dear Friends

Have you ever pondered to consider the question, ‘Who is the Church For?’ As Church members, we may think the answer is obvious – the Church is for everyone! But, in a recent conversation I had, it seems to me that those outside the Church would have a different answer and, while there would be many ways of expressing it, they would all boil down to ‘Church is for Christians’. Those with this attitude, tend to avoid Church, because they do not consider themselves Christians. This is a big problem, because there is little chance of anyone hearing the Gospel taught faithfully unless they come to Church.

In the Gospel of Mark, we are told that,

‘When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He (Jesus) was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”’ (Mark 2:16,17)

In this incident, Jesus was eating in the house of a tax collector, Levi, also known as Matthew, to whom He had simply said, ‘follow Me’. These two short words prompted Levi to leave his tax collecting days behind, becoming one of the 12 apostles. Eventually he wrote the Gospel that bears his name. Notice, Jesus opened His relationship with an invitation, ‘follow me’. It was only after the invitation was accepted, that Jesus was able to teach Levi and the other dinner guests. It was then that those ‘sinners’ had the opportunity to hear that God cared.

This is how we should help those who don’t know God find out that He cares for them. Not by forcing our views upon them, but by beginning with an invitation. Of course, we are not Jesus, so we can’t say, ‘follow me’, but we can be open about our faith, and be ready to respond if anyone asks. We can say, ‘would you like to come to Church?’ We can pray for those who have no faith.

Before His Ascension, Jesus commanded His followers,

‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,’ (Matthew 28:19a)

Being true to our faith, means following Jesus, not only in how we conduct our lives, but also in doing our best to obey this final command and help others believe. Don’t worry if you don’t feel qualified, because Jesus added a promise,

‘remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:20b)

In the same way that Levi had to choose to leave tax collecting before he could follow, it’s only when we choose to obey Jesus, that we find Him alongside us, and only then that we can follow His command. Then, in time, more people may come to Church to hear the Good News and, we pray, the number of people committed to Christ will rise!

Many blessings,

Carl