The Lord of the Outcasts
I have met many people who claim to have been burned by Christians, or churches. I have heard many reasons why people do not attend church, or seek after God. Many people who are financially poor are shamed by churches if they cannot afford to tithe. The heavy yoke of the Old Testament tithe is placed upon their necks without mercy. Although the New Testament teaches that a person is to give according to their ability and not under obligation, many churches mislead their congregations. Under the old covenant, many of the poor were allowed to keep, and eat, their own tithe. However, the modern day churches are more concerned with their nice buildings, fine clothes, and prestige, than for the poor.
Church should not be a place for a fashion show, but a place to seek after and worship God. If a poor family cannot afford nice clothes, they should be allowed to sit on the front row without shame. The house of God should be a place for people of all races and backgrounds. Racial, or economic discrimination, has no place in the church of the Living God.
However, we should keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus and not others. People will disappoint you, but God is faithful and will never disappoint. Don’t reject God because you have been hurt by people. God loves you so much that he became a man, and died on the cross to ransom your soul from the devil. There is no greater love, than the love of God.
Not all churches have gone the way of Laodicea. I have attended churches that care for souls, and have no concern for materialism. I recommend a church that preaches holiness, loves people, and reaches out to the poor and rejected. The late pastor David Wilkerson was an example for all ministers to follow. He loved people of all races and backgrounds, and founded the Times Square Church in New York City. Pastor Wilkerson had love for the neglected souls in the inner city. He reached out to those who had been rejected, and looked down upon, by the religious institutions. His church embraces people of all races, cultures, and economic backgrounds. His shining example of Christian love has inspired me for decades.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of the outcasts. Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of his day because he exposed their hypocrisy and reached out to sinners. The pious scribes and Pharisees would not associate with those they considered unclean, but Christ came to teach repentance, love, mercy, as well as forgiveness. Christ ate with tax collectors and sinners, in order to reach out to them, as well as other neglected souls. If we claim to follow Christ, we should also reach out to those around us without prejudice. If the world will see the love of Christ in us, they may repent and turn from darkness to light.
(Matt 9:9) As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 'For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
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