Luke 5:27-28, 30: After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. Follow me, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 30- But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

I was on a run in the battlefield park near my house the other day. Along the way the Lord told me to look down and when I did, I saw the gross looking coin that you see in the picture below, the one next to the nearly perfect looking one. The Lord told me to pick it up. As I was cooling off and walking back to my car, I felt the Lord lead me to take this picture.
What is the difference between these two pennies? They both have the same value and worth, they are both currency, but one looks a lot more banged up than the other.

When you put them together you get two cents which is what I am offering so to speak. Outwardly we will judge these by their appearance, and in fact the one on the left is one that I happened to have in the console of my car. I had purchased something and I received it in change. I noted at the time, how vibrant the color is and how almost perfect the penny looked. It was a stark contrast with the banged up penny that I found on the ground and it had been discarded and left as if it were unusable. The fact is that it is the same value as any other penny, it just has clearly had a different experience as the clean one. If I took the time to clean it up, I may not take away the scars on it, but I can be sure that the dirt and filth will all be gone. The penny does not know whether it is clean or dirty, it has one purpose and that is to be used in exchange for something of value.

You see some of us when compared to others can seem clean or dirty, but the truth is Jesus doesn't see us for the outside. It is what is on the inside that matters to Him. We are all valuable and are all usable to the kingdom of God.

Matthew in contrast to the Pharisee's and Righteous of the time, looked much like this illustration of pennies. The righteous couldnt understand why Jesus would spend time with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus saw Matthew the way I saw this dirty penny, stuck in the mud and filth. Jesus picked him up and made him clean, and through that cleaning not only did Matthew see a change in his value, but so does anyone who reads his gospel. Matthew was entrusted to be a disciple of Jesus, to follow Him, and to be a part of the greatest love story that ever was or ever will be. Jesus makes it clear that despite how filthy and vile looking Matthew was on the outside, it was what the continual value, the potential value in Matthew that Jesus sees.
When you see someone who looks like a hot mess on the outside, realize the value is the same on the inside. Jesus will clean us all and make us usable for His purpose. No matter what you may look like to others, know that your value is much more than what you see in the mirror. We are all as beautiful as Jesus sees us. Just know that this is what Jesus does, when we are lost and discarded, on a road all alone, He will pick us up, clean us up, and make us as valuable as any other. We will no longer be stuck in the mud, scarred and beaten, but we will be bright, shining and worthy of the one who holds us in the palm of His hand.