LUKE 5:31-32.

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

TO PONDER

When is the last time you went o the doctor? Are you a person who has a regularly scheduled checkup, or do you only visit the doctor when you know something is not quite right?

I'm a 'only visit the doctor when you are sick' kind of guy. That approach worked pretty well for me until I hit my 40's. Most things, most of the the time seemed to sort themselves out and I only required a trip to the doctor on very rare occasions. However, since I turned forty a couple of years ago, I have got to know my doctor fairly well. I think I've seen the doctor more in my 40's than I have the rest of my life combined.

I think an honest journey with Jesus can be similar. If we follow Jesus closely for a decent length of time we begin to recognise more and more our need of him. The problem is that we tend to see it the other way around. We think that as we grow and mature in faith, that we some how start to get it all figured out. Maybe we think - I can still believe in Jesus and be a Christian without going to a church. Or maybe we just begin to feel more confident that we have life under control more as we age and grow in wisdom and understanding so we rely on ourselves more and pray to God less?

The amazing thing about following Jesus is that when we are honest with ourselves and with him, we become both more aware of our brokenness but at the same time, also more aware of the amazing gift of his mercy and grace. Remember Jesus didn't come to save you because you were good enough to deserve it - in that way, it's not about you. He came because he knew you needed a doctor and in that regard, his life death and resurrection were all about you.

Don't let Jesus be like a doctor you only visit when things go bad. Check in with him as regularly as you can. You won't regret it.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you are the great physician. I know that there are things in my life that are not as they should be. I know what some of them are, but I also know there are things I probably even kept hidden from myself. Create a clean heart in me Lord and put a new and right spirit within me that I might follow you more closely and others may see you in me. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle