Matthew 9:13 (The Message): "Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsider, not to coddle insiders."

I find it interesting the Christian mindset of "us and them." Jesus calls them outsiders only to differentiate the focus of His mission. It's not a put down to anyone. He is certainly not judging those he calls outsiders.

If anything Jesus is having a shot at the religious leaders of His day for making their focus the insiders! Jesus is making it clear what His focus is and in so doing makes it clear what our focus should be as well.

We must as a church look outwards - we must be externally focused not internally focused. We have to spend more time thinking in terms of how to reach our world not how to keep Christians from straying away from the fold.

Shame on Christians who needed to be coddled - these incredibly high maintenance people who seem to love their problems more than they love Jesus, who exaggerate how huge their need is but spend little to no time exaggerating how great God grace is.

If we look at the simple breakdown of the scripture we see Jesus talking about MERCY for OUTSIDERS and merely RELIGON for INSIDERS.

So ... listen closely; how do we become insiders who move in MERCY and not religion? The answer is by keeping an eye out for outsiders and showing mercy but at the same time resist the temptation to coddle those in the church encouraging them rather to maturity.

Coddling people doesn't prepare them for real life, where as mercy causes people to open up to the Saviour. Pastor shepherd the sheep, lead the sheep and feed the sheep. We nurse those who are sick and labour until Christ is formed in them. As Christian leader though we must resist the temptation to coddle.

Coddle: Dictionary.com says, "... to baby, to indulge, to treat indulgently, to pamper, to spoil." Coddling people keeps them immature and unformed. Coddling spoils people and we become indulgent leaders while keeping the flock childish, juvenile and under developed.

Paul encourages something quite different:

Ephesians 4: 14 - 16, "No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love."

Indicative of Christian maturity is an eye to the outsider. Mature people don't or shouldn't need coddling, we need to desire the mercy and grace to reach out to our world with the message of God's good news.