Why Jesus Came

My family loves homemade pizza .... apparently, so does our dog.

He's not supposed to eat "people food," but the last time I made pizza, he laid in the floor on my kitchen rug the entire time I worked, eyes looking up in longing. I repeatedly told him, "No. Not for you." This is the dog who is so full of love and affection, he's like the old boyfriend who loved you too much ... sometimes you wished he would go away. :) But with the pizza done and served, the family relocated from the kitchen for movie night.

The dog came with us. We said "no" once more to his longing eyes, and he "stayed" until we got wrapped up in the movie. Moments later we heard clanging from the kitchen. Our 4 pairs of eyes met. We all whispered with wrathful realization (we had yet to go back for seconds), "The dog!"

Sure enough, when I reached the kitchen, he was gulping down stolen morsels and lunging from the stove, leaving a vulnerable piece dangling on the edge. Momentarily I was mad, but mostly I was hurt. This "loves you too much" dog who sits at my feet and follows me around didn't obey me, so how could he really love me? Suddenly, I felt used and taken advantage of. Into the kennel he went to "think about it."   ;)  Ok ... really to protect the rest of the pizza. Bad dog!!!

If he loved me, he would obey me and change his ways, but he gives in to his urges instead. Jesus made it clear that when He came, He did "not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). He was saying this to pharisees who believed they were righteous by their own deeds. It's hard to get religious people to see their need to repent.

If we love Jesus, He wants us to Be Repentant, and that means a genuine sorrow for our behavior, accompanied by a change of behavior.  Our world today is so fast paced and so full, that we can avoid having enough time and space to meditate on God's Word and spend time in prayer to ASK HIM to show us what we need to be repentant of. True repentance produces obedience, and that's where we'll go tomorrow ... back to the pizza pan.

Today ... how about taking some time to read Luke 5:17-31  today, looking at the contrast of the repentant heart and the prideful hearts.  Let's ask God to show us what's in our hearts and what we may need to repent of today.  After all, that's why He came.