Tuesday 26 September - Experience Transformation: How Being with Jesus Inspires Love and Healing

Introduction

Yesterday I suggested that we are the average of the five people we spend most time with. We should therefore be people of whom it is said, they had been with Jesus. Coming at it from another angle, who you have spent your time with shows whether you had been with Jesus or not.

Standing with the Excluded

You see, Jesus spent most of his time with the excluded in his society: the outsiders, the misfits, the sinners, the poor people. The council that tried Peter and John after they had healed the crippled beggar recognised they had been with Jesus, in part, because they were following his example. They too were spending time with the excluded like the crippled beggar.

Jesus Did Not Spend Time with the Wealthy and Powerful

The council trying Peter and John was the same council that had tried Jesus and condemned him to death. They were wealthy, and thought themselves the intellectual and powerful men of Jerusalem. But Jesus didn't spend much time with them. He could see they were self-serving, and causing pain and suffering on the population as a whole, particularly those on the margins of society.

They Had Been with Jesus and Learned from Him

Jesus brought love and healing to them, and he calls us to do the same. Peter and John had been with Jesus, and in his name they brought that same love and healing to the poor and sick. We too must stand in solidarity with those who need us the most. This demands we have been with Jesus and that our lives are being transformed by him.

This is our name. This is our calling. And it all comes from being with Jesus and learning from him.

Think It Over

Think about the following:

Who could you stand with in solidarity today?