Mark 2:14 “As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”

—————————————–

Why call a hated, despised tax collector to be a disciple?  Why call odoriferous, gross, and rough fishermen?  Why call a young man out of a tree?  Why take a chance on a zealous Roman hater to join the merry men?  Why select a man that was from the beginning unwilling to acknowledge Jesus? It would have made much more sense to reach out to the religious, to the highly born, to the Roman aristocracy. Jesus chose who he did just because they were unloved. They were neglected and marginalized. And to their surprise, the previously unloved found a place of acceptance and love.  To be loved when you know you are unlovely.  I am loved today.  I will praise God all day for that acceptance and love.