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Chapter 13: Vision

This is the last chapter of the book and perhaps the most convicting...

I can't see anything without my contacts, do you have vision problems?

"Jesus didn't have any vision problems. He saw lost people. They weren't invisible to him. He didn't rush by them. He didn't ignore them. He wasn't too busy for them. He saw them crying by themselves on the back row of the church. He saw them dropping off their kids at day care so they could make it to their second job. He saw them with a scotch in hand, looking overwhelmed at the class reunion. He saw them riding bikes outside his window while he was writing his fifth book. He didn't step to the right side of the sidewalk when he saw them standing on the left. He didn't make assumptions about them because of the way the dressed. He didn't avoid being seen with them because of how that might impact his ministry. He didn't look at lost people as if they were second-class citizens. He didn't see their tattoos and piercings as obstacles to their salvation. He didn't see their 'will work for food' sign and think cynically, yeah, right. He didn't see their addictions as disqualifiers that needed to be conquered before they could come back to church. He didn't see them as sin, but sinners who needed salvation. He didn't see lost people as lost causes, because-to Jesus-there are no lost causes! Jesus loves lost people, so he saw them."

So many times we fall into one if not all of those categories. Something that we often do is expect people to come and meet us where we are, but Jesus went TO the people who needed him most. Take the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus didn't make Zacchaeus come to him, Jesus met him at "the spot." The spot is the place where sin and grace meet, and its the place where hope is born.

"Jesus didn't expect Zacchaeus to find him. He didn't send Zacchaeus a home mailer with directions to his spot. He didn't put a map in the yellow pages showing him ten different ways to get to his spot. He didn't hang a banner with the words "Come Worship at Our Spot!" on his church building. No, Jesus didn't expect Zacchaeus to do all the work, so he met him where he was. Fish don't jump into the boat. Good soil doesn't jump onto the seeds. Disciples don't make themselves. Sheep, coins, and sons don't find themselves. We have to go to their spots and look for them."

People want to be seen. That is why so many people dress the way they do. They want people to notice them. That is why so many men obsess over their car or their lawn, and why so many women try to preserve, improve, and show off their bodies, they want to be seen. They want to know that their existence matters. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but even more than that he wanted to be seen by Jesus. Jesus saw him, and then he spoke to him. Jesus actually invited himself over (which is sort of rude, but I guess you get a pass if you're Jesus). Because of Jesus' interaction with Zacchaeus, his entire life changed. He was a tax collector and notorious thief, but after his meal with Jesus he vowed to give back 4 times the amount he had taken! Being seen can be a powerful and transformational experience.

In this story Jesus reminds us "That he was at this spot to seek and save what was lost, Jesus showed everyone that he sees lost people not as distractions but as his purpose for being on this planet." What do you see when you look at the lost?

"I pray that you'll see people who are not where they are supposed to be, go to their spot, look at them, and simply say, 'How about you and I get something to eat? I pray that you'll join me in eating with sinners and in making our dinner tables the most challenging places...not where life ends, but where it begins."

Enjoy the Journey