When

Jesus chose his disciples, he did some things people did not expect.

Levi was a tax collector—part of a socially despised profession

known for corruption and greed. Tax collectors were labeled as

“sinners” by the Pharisees, a group of religious leaders who were

concerned with following their own interpretation of God’s law and

avoiding “unclean” people or behavior.

Calling

Levi to discipleship, Jesus challenged him to a totally new way of

life. And in his response, Levi’s life changed forever. He left

everything to follow Jesus. Levi also “held a great banquet for

Jesus at his house,” and a crowd of tax collectors and others

joined in. As we might guess, this attracted the criticism of the

Pharisees.

It

is tempting to limit our social circles to people who are mostly like

us. Yet Jesus reveals his priorities when he responds to the

Pharisees by saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but

sinners to repentance.” He cared more about reaching people lost in

sin than being criticized by self-righteous legalists. The result:

lives changed for eternity.

The

danger of piety is separatism. Our mission as Christ-followers is to

engage the communities where we are planted. While we rightly

separate ourselves from evil deeds, we must never isolate ourselves

from people who have yet to meet Jesus and hear his good news.