Who Do We See?

Luke 19:1-10
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Imagine you're sitting in a class when your teacher suddenly announces, "Attention class! We have a new student today. Please treat them with the utmost respect." The individual walks in and you look at them, up and down. What do you think? What do you see? Will you judge them based on what they look like? What brands they wear? How they dress? 


Think about it. Deep down, we all judge people at one point or another. First impressions are made within the first five seconds of meeting someone, and that includes the way they appear or dress to you. Our view on individuals around us ultimately determines how we treat them. We treat our best friends better than our classmates, and our families better than strangers, right? 


The same thing happened in Jericho to a man named, Zacchaeus. People judged him by the way he dressed and the job he had. Obviously since he's a tax collector, he'll be wealthy due to the money he cheated people out of, and had a lavish lifestyle. Yet when he saw Jesus, he proclaimed;


"Look Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." [Luke 19:8]


To this, Jesus replied;


"Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." [Luke 19:9-10]


Even though he was someone society hates from the outside, due to his meeting with Jesus, he had a change of heart. Despite the fact he may be still the same appearance wise, who are they to judge if he had a change of heart? Yes, he may still have that lavish lifestyle and wealthy clothing, but he wants to give back to the poor and cheated.


When we look at someone, who do we see? Someone who is lost and in need of Jesus, or an individual who does not deserve our attention? And which of our option shows that love that Jesus spoke about?

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Those who have been found should seek the lost.