Finding Exactly What We’re Looking For

Have you ever found yourself finding EXACTLY what you were aiming for? Perhaps it was locating the perfect new home, the opportunity to study abroad, or a promising job in a new city that exactly matched your next career step…with a big raise. Whatever it was, you could picture a blissful future.

But, inevitably, you found the warts. The house developed foundation problems, you can’t seem to learn the new language that your classes are taught in, or the new boss turned out to be unbearable. You received what you were looking for, but it turned out your desires had deceived you. Now, you were saddled with making the best out of a really bad decision.

This Sunday at Trinity Downtown, we’ll be discussing how this same predicament happened to Levi, one of Jesus’ first twelve followers. Levi, who is also known as Matthew, worked as an agent of the Roman government charged with the responsibility (and privilege) of collecting taxes. He was very wealthy, but the method he used to acquire his wealth made him a social and religious outcast. His only friends were folks in the same position he was in. Like Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos (pictured above) Levi got what he wanted, and it turned out to be a prison with golden handcuffs.

Then, along came Jesus. He saw Levi’s “tax booth” and the predicament that he was in. Jesus offered Levi a way out of his self-made prison. He didn’t hesitate to announce the mercy of God to a social outcast, one who would not have been welcome in the local synagogue or at a proper dinner party. Jesus was less concerned about the long list of Levi’s sins. He was more concerned about rescuing one of the “lost sheep of Israel.”

If you find yourself in a self-made prison, take heart. You can trust that Jesus will come along and make an offer you can’t refuse. You can count on it.