Approachable

Read: Mark 2:13-17


Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. —Mark 2:17

When people ask Michael St. Jacques, a Franciscan brother, what he’s wearing, he says, “It’s called a habit.” He wears the distinctive brown robe for a definite reason. St. Jacques toldHemispheres magazine, “We have the choice to wear it, and a lot of us make a real effort to because it acts as a magnet. People tell me things they’ve never told anyone. Complete strangers will confess something they did 30 years ago and ask if God can forgive them.” You might say that Michael is clothed in “approachability.”

Throughout the Gospels, we find that all types of people approached Jesus wherever He went. They came to be taught, helped, healed, accepted, and forgiven. When some criticized Jesus for associating with tax collectors and sinners, people they considered undesirable, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

Do people see us as aloof or accessible? When we become so focused on our own plans that we have no time for others, we are not clothed with the spirit of Christ.

When the Savior lives through us, His open arms invite people to open their hearts and unburden their souls.

Our world around us surges—duties vie
For all our time, our energies, our care;
But greater duty urges; don’t pass by
A hurting heart whose burden we may share. —Gustafson

Being available for the needs of others honors Christ.