Why Don't I Seek the Outcast?

My pastor preached a sermon tonight on Zacchaeus. I must admit that I had not read the story in a long time and the extent of my knowledge of him is limited pretty much to a vague memory of the old song from vacation Bible school when I was a kid. Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he..

The thing which jumped out at me tonight was not really about Zacchaeus but instead how Jesus treated Zacchaeus. Jesus sought out Zacchaeus. Jesus didn’t seek out the righteous religious leaders or even “regular” members of the religious community. Jesus chose to seek out the outcast Zacchaeus. He was the man that everyone in the community despised because he collected the taxes for the Romans.

I was reminded that Jesus did this all the time. He actively sought the people who had strayed far from God and sought to bring them back close. In Matthew 9 there is a related verse on this topic, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

I found myself feeling like I needed to do some healthy re-examination of my priorities. If I was traveling to a new town, would I seek out the outcasts to visit with? Or... would I seek out the “church people” who were a lot like me? My track record is clearly on the side of doctoring the healthy. (heavy sigh) In other words, my own life is too often like the Pharisees and not like Jesus.

So what am I going to do about it?

God, I pray that You will reveal to me some practical way that I can more often seek out the person who has strayed far from You and make myself available to the Holy Spirit to reach someone lost. Prepare me and enable me to venture out of my comfort zone. Give me the faith I need and the spiritual discernment I need to let You use me for Your purposes. Amen.