Sticky Fingers (Friday Devotional)

 

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he 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

The most disciplined member of my family right now when it comes to prayer, ironically enough, is the one who’s still learning to talk. Every time we sit down at the kitchen table to eat, Katherine will insistently reach for my hand and for Lindsey’s. One of us will say grace and, if for some reason the prayer doesn’t meet Katherine’s standards, she’ll look to the other parent expectantly, refusing to let go of our hands until somebody gets the prayer right. Not until she smiles and shouts “Nennen! Nennen!” (that’s “amen,” for those of you who don’t speak toddler) can we follow Andrew’s subsequent command and “Dig in, everybody!”

But the other morning at breakfast, things went a little out of order. A hungry Katherine had already been given a head start by the time I sat down to join her—the strawberries on her tray were half-eaten, and the jelly that had been spread on her toast had relocated to her face and fingers. So when I sat down next to her and she extended her little hand to me so I’d say grace, what was being offered to me were the world’s stickiest fingers. There was no way to keep my hands clean and love her well in that moment. So without hesitation, I took her sticky fingers in my own and we prayed.

Christlike love is like that sometimes—it’s not always neat and tidy. In fact, it’s inherently risky; Jesus’s ministry cost him his reputation and ultimately his life. In reaching out to lepers, dining with sinners, and ministering to the dispossessed, Jesus had a lot of interactions that made his life harder, not easier.

But love compelled him to see past the potential objections. When we follow his example, we care less about our own reputations than others’ souls, less about security than grace. The love of Christ commands you and empowers you to love even and especially when it’s inconvenient, even and especially when doing so means taking a chance. So reach out today to someone who needs a touch of grace—because if you’ll look past the sticky fingers, you’ll find a smiling face.