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Greetings!
While Jesus was on earth, He often surprised people through His decision to associate with people who were considered the lowest of the low in their society, including tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. When the Pharisees questioned why He ate and drank with these types of people, Jesus responded, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," Luke 5:31-37.
During Jesus's ministry, He also showed great love for children, who held a low status in society. Children had no power and were expected to be neither seen nor heard, but Jesus saw them and heard them. When His disciples tried to prevent the children from seeing Him, Jesus corrected them and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these," Mark 10:14. "And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them," Mark 10:16.
Even before this, Jesus told his disciples about the importance of caring for the least of these, the people society considered the lowest of the low. He said, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me," Mark 9:37. Jesus calls each of us to humbly serve the vulnerable. In doing so, we are serving God.
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