For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
It takes time and patience to see Jesus Christ in others. We want to know Christ is in those we have fellowship with but we know Him as we know Him, not as others know Him. It took me a long time to discover that.
My accountability partner is in Christ. I know this for a certainty because when we are together I feel Christ is there with us, not just for me, but for the both of us. We are more together than apart, not different yet not exactly the same. Our experiences are different but those differences do not interfere with the bond of peace that exists because Christ is there strengthening the bond between us.
My witness is that some of us attract others in a manner in which being in their presence makes others feel better about themselves. Some will see the man as the attraction because they have not come to know Christ crucified. If they had they would see Christ in him is what is attractive.
We will be in a local gathering and there will be a huddle of people trying to get close to that one person. It is like a line of readers waiting to get a book autographed, except it isn’t a book signing. That is when we should look around the room to see the ones that are sitting alone. They are the ones that need us, not the main attraction.
I know this because I too have been that one feeling like an outsider with no one wanting to be with me. There is nothing so lonely as being alone in a crowded room. No one in Christ should feel that way. If they are not in Christ, well then, they really do need to have someone who knows Christ crucified to come along beside them.
One of the identities of the Holy Spirit is one who walks beside you. He guides us where we are needed if we read the room and stop focusing on the popular and seek the needy.
Isn’t that what Jesus would do?
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus is only mentioned in the gospel of luke. He was small in stature but his reputation among the people was hated. He was of little consequence in the telling of the gospel that he only gets one mention. Jesus said “I must” as if it was commanded of Him by the Father to show grace to this little hated man.
This isn’t about Zacchaeus, it is about obedience of faith.