Our hang-ups don’t keep us from Jesus. In fact, Jesus helps with our hang-ups. He hangs out with us in our hung-up condition and keeps working on it with us and in us.
Right after Jesus dealt with the hang-ups of the religious leaders, he went out along the sea. The crowd just wouldn’t let up from following him, but he kept teaching them. He noticed a man named Levi who was doing his job of collecting taxes. Then, as now, that didn’t make him popular!
Jesus called the man to follow him, and Levi got up and did just that. They went to Levi’s house where we read that, “Many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.” (from Mark 2)
Again, the Pharisees watched from a safe distance. They weren’t getting involved, but they were tangled up and fixated in their hearts and minds, hidden from view. This led up to another hang-up in their hearts. But hang-ups eventually bubble over and erupt at the surface.
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” they asked.
In other words, “Why is Jesus hanging out with people who have hang-ups?”
Why Jesus Hangs Out with People Who Have Hang-Ups
The answer Jesus gives helps us understand why he was right at home in a gathering of people with a lot of problems, people who created problems for other people. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
In other words, if you have a hang-up, Jesus has you in his heart. He didn’t come for people without hang-ups, because we all have them. He came for all of us who know we have things to let go of and want help letting go. He came for those of us with fixations and wrong thinking.
How Jesus Helps With Our Hang-Ups
If you have a hang-up, Jesus is already hung up on you.
- He’s working to bring you near to him. (Ephesians 2:13)
- He already gave his life to deal with our sin problem. (John 3:16-17)
- He left his Holy Spirit to comfort us and guide us. (John 14:16-27)
- He sits now beside His Father and ours, interceding for all of our hang-ups. (Mark 16:19)
- He promised to keep working to help us lay down and put off what has us hung up. (Philippians 1:6)
If you have a hang-up, Jesus is already hung up on you.
