Mark 2:13-17 NLT

13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this he told them, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Jesus modeled an open heart.

Mark 2:14 NLT

"As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector's booth."

- Remember your story.

- Remember your biggest influence.

- Remember your behind the scenes.

- Jesus modeled an open table.

Mark 2:15-16 NLT

15 "Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

We are all called to someone, but we are not all called to the same one.

Jesus modeled hope, not approval.

Mark 2:17 NLT

When Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

- I do not sin when I love a sinner.

- I do not love a sinner when I sin with them.

"The most formidable risk of temptation comes from well-meaning friends who desire only our comfort." - Charles Swindoll

Aim to love, not to be liked.