A pastor and his congregation, serving in an area known for addicts, alcoholics, and prostitutes, have prayed an interesting prayer for many years: Lord, send us the people nobody else wants. That prayer has been answered, for more than 800 church attendees are now involved in recovery programs designed to help them break free from destructive lifestyles. Recently, the pastor added this phrase to the end of his prayer: . . . and nobody else sees. He says, “[These people] are often overlooked. . . . But after all, as Jesus put it, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do’ ” (Matthew 9:12).
There once lived two women who definitely could have been shunned and overlooked—Naomi and Ruth. Due to the twin challenges of living in a patriarchal society (Naomi was a widow) filled with ethnic prejudice (Ruth was a Moabitess), the two were in a “bitter” place (Ruth 1:3-4,20).
But by God’s grace one man didn’t see them in the negative way that many did. Boaz showed “kindness” to the two women—noting the kindness Ruth had shown to his relative Naomi (Ruth 2:11,20). He even blessed Ruth, saying, “May the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done” (Ruth 2:12).
Get this: Ruth was welcomed and helped even though she was a widow, had come from an undesirable nation, and wasn’t one of Boaz’s workers (Ruth 2:13). Although different and needy, she was redeemed by this “family redeemer” (Ruth 2:20)—a man she would eventually marry! (Ruth 4:13).
Who are the “people nobody else wants” in your world? How can you help them find redemption in Jesus and a healthier way of life? In Jesus’ eyes, all people are wanted.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 7:13-29
More:
Read Isaiah 1:17 and note God’s compassionate instruction communicated through the prophet.
Next:
How did Jesus model genuine love and concern for unwanted people? What can you do to follow His example?
mike wittmer on July 4, 2013 at 9:35 am
Wow. This is a sobering and convicting challenge. And what a great way to have a meaningful ministry! Rather than fight over the pretty people that everyone else wants in their church, why not find our niche serving those who are overlooked? We might just find ourselves serving alongside Jesus.
tom felten on July 5, 2013 at 7:54 am
Good point, Mike. I’m reminded of what Jesus said in Mark 2:17.
daisymarygoldr on July 9, 2013 at 1:40 am
Tom Felten, you are right; “In Jesus’ eyes, all people are wanted”. Naomi and Ruth were not addicts, alcoholics, and prostitutes. Both of them were poor widows—much wanted and loved by their late huspbands. They don’t represent the sick with destructive lifestyles. And for those “people nobody else wants” we can help them find redemption by bringing them to Jesus Christ.
The purpose of the church is to present Christ to the world. Recovery programs are offered at rehabilitation centers and other health care delivery settings. A pastor involved in such programs is clearly preaching a different gospel that assures people with a false hope of salvation. Just by his prayer one can discern if he is from God. Don’t you see it is the working of another spirit? This is no doctor but a psychoquack who has wormed his way into the church to secure a steady clientele for financial gain.
Hucksters peddle the Word of God for personal profit. These false ministers, cleverly convert the church into a hospital and rightly pray “Lord, send us the people nobody else wants”. Jesus did not ask God to send people to Him. Instead He was the one God sent into this world to release the captives and make the oppressed to be set free. Likewise, He sent out His disciples with this prayer: “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world”.
Each and every Christian is saved to be sent out and not to sit in as church attendees. Today, I’m here not on my own but because the Lord has sent me. The Lord of the harvest sends out laborers into the field. The field is the world (Matthew 13:38) not the church. As His servants it is His compassion that compels us to go out and seek the sick and speak His healing word (Psalms 107:20) into the lives of those who are trapped in destructive lifestyle and behaviors.
After hearing the word of God no one ever remains the same again. Consider the women caught in the very act of adultery. Can you picture her continuing in her sinful act right under the nose of the Savior? Can a person puff away packages of cigarettes, smoke pot, get drunk or watch porn while seated at the very feet of Christ? Light and darkness cannot dwell together. Sin cannot survive in the presence of the sinless One.
Jesus Himself attested to the liberating power of His word: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And if the Son sets us free, we will be free indeed. This is not only my experience and that of my family members but of millions of others throughout the Church age.
We need not look any further to follow the steps of some stranger and his recovery program. Jesus is our example; and we must follow in His steps. He never sinned and personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin. By His wounds we are healed (1 Peter 2: 21-24). Only He can heal and enable us to live a healthier way of life.
ajratnam on May 29, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Dear daisymarygoldr,
I thank you for your correct and bold message. Now-a-days, there are so many false preachers, teachers, pastors who are deceiving the innocents through certain so-called miracles and expanding their own worldly kingdoms disregarding the biblical principles thereby causing so much shame to the real believers of the God’s Word.