He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. Luke 19:1-4
Make no mistake. God was at work in the heart of Zacchaeus, drawing him toward Him. God placed a yearning in his heart that would make this wealthy businessman climb a tree like a child in order to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. God still does that. He is still in the business of drawing people to Himself. And whether or not all the marketing surveys show it, He is still drawing those people to the body of Christ…His church.
The question is, are we doing our part to make sure an unbelieving world can actually see Jesus in us when they look? When God stirs their hearts to go to some lengths to “climb trees” in order to get a glimpse of Jesus in us, are we conducting ourselves in a way that helps?
When a watching world looks at our social media posts, do they see Jesus?
When the gay waiter serves our table, will he see Jesus?
When our banker sees how we handle our finances, does she see Jesus?
When those people who voted for the other party in the last election show up at our church, do they see Jesus?
When that telemarketer calls our house, will he hear Jesus in us?
When that staff member gossips about us, will he look and see Jesus in us?
When that embittered, divisive congregant blows up yet another church business meeting, will she see Jesus in you?
God is still doing His part. He is still drawing people to the church. The question is, how are we doing with our part?