For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost

This verse from Luke 19:10 concludes the story of Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector. Zacchaeus was a short man, the crowds were big, and he had run on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to be able to see Jesus. Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus's house to dine, the crowd had disapproved (“they” and “all” verse 7), because Jesus had been willing to be a guest of, and hence associate with, a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood! Jesus approval and acceptance of Zacchaeus was more important to him (Zacchaeus) than the acceptance of the crowd. In any case the acceptance of the crowd is fickle, as the the unfolding story very clearly shows (vv. 37,38; 23:21). We too must learn to value the Lord's opinion concerning ourselves above that of others. But it is not always easy!

And as I came this morning asking Him for something that applies first and foremost to myself, the Lord gave me two things. The first has to with my own experiences of rejection. And I was a little surprised to find that there are still feelings of hurt there. I mean I thought I had dealt with it all, and to a great extent I have. Certainly the Lord came to seek and to save that which is lost, but He also came to heal the broken hearted (Luke 4:18;Isaiah 61:1). It's a process however, and like grief, each new hurt has an echo of all previous hurts. These things are crossroads, they can either draw us closer to the God of all comfort, or we can allow the enemy to drive us from Him. And when we choose the former it gives us empathy to those who are similarly hurt, it it equips us the share with them the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4). This is Kingdom work!

The second thing has to do with the need to be on our (my) guard, that we are not rejecting especially those, the Lord is drawing to Himself. There is far too much “us and them” both in the church, and outside of it. And we need to examine our hearts with respect to our attitudes to others who rub us up the wrong way, or who believe differently from ourselves, or with whose lifestyle we disagree with. The accusations of hate and fear on the marginalized, and on those we consider sinners, is not without validity, and we need to repent. We do however need to walk in both love and truth, and we need to get this in balance. In particular, we need to know when to speak and when to be silent. Jesus did't need to speak to Zacchaeus of his sin. As shown by his practical repentance (verse 8), there was no need. But Jesus was not backwards in speaking the truth when He felt it necessary (verse 27).

Father, thank You that there is coming a day when there will be no more rejection, no more pain (Revelation 24:1). In the meantime Lord help us to press into Your comfort and to share it with others. Help us Lord to cooperate with You in seeking to save the lost. Teach us to walk in both love and truth, to be sensitive to the early nudgings of Your Spirit to know when to speak and when to be silent. Use us in this way for Your Kingdom Lord in Jesus Name Amen