Eating With Sinners

Recently I was eating with a crowd of pretty broken people. While normally I would have enjoyed this evening, this night I was not; because they were all sharing how hard life was for them.
I was restless, and wanted to go home. I had a list of chores not being done, and for the moment I felt like this was a big waste of my time. I was frustrated that my laundry was undone, and I still just did not have enough hours in the day for what I needed to do.
I sat patiently thinking that I wished I could just bolt out of there and get done what needed to be done. I silently wondered if this was a waste of my time.
When everyone broke up and started to go home, it occured to me that was the very place Jesus would have been.

Mark 2:16,17

But when some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with people like that, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?"
When Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call sinnners, not thoe who tink they are already good enough".

Jesus had a whole universe to tend to, but he took time to just sit and listen. He always shared himself in love and compassion. So, he had allowed me to share in his service. What a blessing!