A safe place where you can feel like you belong…because you do!
We’ve enjoyed a couple of days at Shenandoah Valley Campground. And the rabbits obviously enjoy living there as well…because they’re EVERYWHERE! Friendly rabbits hop all around the campground and it’s a lot of fun to see them and feed them. This is a safe place where they feel like they belong, and it got me thinking: I hope our churches are like that for people!
Luke 19:5 says, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.” Verse 7 says, “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.” And Luke verses 9-10 say, “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house…For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Zaccaeus wasn’t “good enough” to spend time with Jesus, but he was exactly the kind of person Jesus wanted to spend time with and exactly the kind of person I hope will come to church.
I hope everyone comes to church the next time there’s a service. But I also hope we all leave different than we came.
Jesus didn’t gloss over, ignore, or excuse Zacchaeus’ sin. Instead Jesus offered Him a solution.
If you think you’re too sinful to come to church, I hope you’ll come anyway. And if you look at people and think they’re too far gone to come to church, those are probably exactly who Jesus would’ve made sure He spent time with.