Last week, I blogged about how we can seek to avoid Jesus by developing a false sense of righteousness. Those who don't think they're ill won't be interested in knowing what the physician has to say.
This week, I came across a poem by Julie Stoner that addresses the same issue. It's from the June/July 2009 issue of First Things. Poetry and I often don't get along, but this one I like:
"I Did Not Come to Call the Righteous"We ninety-nine obedient sheep;
we workers hired at dawn’s first peep;
we faithful sons who strive to please,
forsaking prodigalities;
we virgins who take pains to keep
our lamps lit, even in our sleep;
we law-abiding Pharisees;we wince at gospels such as these.
I've been thinking about this a lot, that righteousness for righteousness' sake becomes a waste of time. We may think we are the 99 obedient sheep, but actually we are the 99 lost sheep.
ReplyDeleteOr, the 100 found sheep who joyfully follow their Shepherd.