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Loving The Unlovable
Luke
19:1-10
The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that
which was lost.(Luke 19:10)
Zacchaeus was easy to
dislike. As a tax collector for an oppressive occupying government, he
made himself rich by overcharging his countrymen. Yet, to the
consternation of the crowd, Jesus honored him by going to his house and
eating with him.
A judge with a reputation
for toughness tells how he learned to relate to unlovable people. In a
Sunday morning homily his clergyman urged the congregation to try to look
at people through the eyes of Jesus.
A few days later the judge
was about to give a stiff sentence to an arrogant young man who kept
getting in trouble. But then he remembered what the minister had
suggested. The judge said, “I looked this young man in the eye and told
him I thought he was a bright and talented human being. And then I said
to him, ‘Let’s talk together about how we can get you living in more
creative and constructive ways.’ We had a surprisingly good
conversation.”
Jesus saw Zacchaeus as a
sinner with an empty hole that only He could fill, and through His
kindness Zacchaeus was transformed. The judge could not report any such
change, but who knows the long-term outcome? He set a good example for
all of us, because he saw the man through the eyes of Jesus.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, teach me to love like you did. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
True compassion will put love into action.
Christian Education Forum,
Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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