No kill shelter

Read > Matthew 9:9-13

Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do (v. 12).

Dogtown, the focus of a television show by the same title, is part of a 33,000-acre animal sanctuary in southern Utah. It’s a “no kill shelter” where dogs that might otherwise be put down, find hope.

A devoted staff of trainers, veterinarians, and volunteers take in unwanted, unruly, damaged canines with the goal of transforming each one into a loving pet. Many of the dogs that end up at the shelter exhibit bad or aggressive behaviour because they’re wounded and scared. The staffs at Dogtown believe that even dogs that have faced harsh difficulties in life can be turned around for the better.

Wouldn’t it be great if our churches and Christian communities were more like Dogtown – places where scared, damaged, and messed-up people could come and find hope, love, and wholeness? In many ways, the community of faith is meant to be like “no kill shelters” for people who are broken or struggling with sin (Galatians 6:1). Too often, however, we tend to “shoot” our wounded. And the ones who want to pull the trigger first are often hiding deep struggles of their own behind a wall of self-righteousness.

Speaking of self-righteous, when the religious leaders of Jesus’ day questioned His disciples as to why He was socializing with sinners, Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do…. For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:13).

People who follow the example of Jesus will show care and concern regardless of a person’s struggles. Jesus was never soft on moral failure (John 8:11), but He always met people where they were with the intention of speaking life-changing truth into their broken and wayward hearts (John 4:25-26). – Jeff Olson

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Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

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How can you be a living “no kill shelter” for those around you? What have you learned from Jesus about how to care for those who are struggling with sin?