For Haywood: Close the Gap



Many of us learned the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-100 when we were children.  We know about the "wee little man" who climbed the sycamore tree to see what he could see.  We know that Jesus told him to "come down" because he was going to his house that day.

But if that's all you know about this story, you're missing a lot!  Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and wealthy.  He was an outcast who worked with the hated Gentile government.  Also, tax collectors were notoriously corrupt.  Most likely, Zacchaeus had said no to God and to his people.

Despite the tax collector's reputation as a social outcast, Jesus invited himself to his house.  He said yes to the tax collector.  He loved him, was for him.

When Jesus said yes to Zacchaeus, the people said no, no, no!!!  They derisively said of Jesus, "This guy welcomes sinners and eats with them!"  Decent people said no to people like this tax collector.  To love him, to say yes to him, to be for him was in some way to approve of his behavior.

But Zacchaeus' time with Jesus transformed him.  He stood and said, "Half my possessions, I will give to the poor, and if I've defrauded anyone, I'll pay him back four times over!"

Jesus replied, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost."

Jesus came to look for people like Zacchaeus and redeem them by his love.  Before he ascended to heaven, he gave his followers the mission of doing the same.  They were to seek and save the lost.  They were to share his love for them.

We live in a time in which increasing numbers of people are saying no to us, to what we believe, and to Christ.  Like Zacchaeus, many of them believe we've said no to them!

If we're going to fulfill our mission to seek and save the lost, we're going to have to engage people who are like Zacchaeus.  We're going to have to commit ourselves to loving them in Christ's name, to listen to them, and to show them that we're for them.  We don't have to change our beliefs or values.  Instead, we do as Jesus did: Love and accept them as they are, and share God's love with them.

Ask God to guide you to form relationships with people who don't go to church.  Not to add them to your list of spiritual converts, but to love them as they are and share the good news with them.  If more of us do that, salvation will come to many more houses!

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