Several years ago the phrases “seeker friendly”, “seeker driven” and “seeker sensitive church” were all the rage. Some Christians looked with favor on these church models. Some with disdain. But the truth is, all of us – believers and yet-to-be-believers, alike – need to be seekers.
This week at my church Bible Study I taught on Zacheus. As I studied his life with fresh eyes, his tenacity in seeking Jesus fueled my own motivation to daily seek Christ. I can’t get his passion out of my mind.
And I want it.
Some of us remember ole’ Zacheus from the Sunday School song. “Zacheus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see….” Spark any memories?
But this week something deeper was sparked in me as I considered Zacheaus’ actions. Zacheus was serious about seeing Jesus for himself. No second hand description or experience would do. But he had a problem that made seeing Jesus first hand difficult – he was short. Most people would have shrugged their shoulders, muttered “oh well, I tried”, and walk away. Some may have asked those closer to the front for a play-by-play description. But Zacheus did neither. Zacheus wanted to see Jesus for himself.
So he came up with a plan.
He ran ahead of the crowd. Can you imagine the stares he must have gotten? “Seriously, Zacheus, you’re a big time player with lots of cash, and you’re running in broad daylight in your Armani suit and Italian loafers?” OK, so maybe this isn’t exactly what the onlookers thought – but it’s probably pretty close.
But Zacheus didn’t care what other people thought. Why not?
Because he wanted to see Jesus for himself.
But then he ran into a second obstacle; the crowd would soon arrive and he would still be unable to see because he was short. This obstacle – his height – wasn’t something he could change. So he had to get creative. Zach looked around, saw a tree, and decided to shimmy up.
Zacheus refused to let his personal obstacle stop him. Why not?
He wanted to see Jesus for himself.
So now Zacheus is hot and sweaty, and perched up in a tree straddling a branch, hoping it’s sturdy enough to hold his weight. And he waits. I’m guessing the wait was pretty uncomfortable, given the branch straddling thing.
But he waits despite being uncomfortable. Why?
He wants to see Jesus for himself.
Do you know what it took for Zacheus to experience Jesus first hand? Motivation. Humilty. Ingenuity. Patience.
Maybe you would love to see Jesus, too.
How motivated are you? Will you pursue Him no matter what the crowd thinks? Will you seek Him despite your unique personal obstacle, whether it’s time, or know-how, or some other obstacle known only to you? Are you wiling to be patient, even if reading your Bible doesn’t provide a bolt of lighting every time you open it?
If you’re motivated and humble and creative and patient you’ll see Jesus. But more important, He’ll see you.
When Jesus got to the spot where Zacheus was, he stopped, looked straight at Zacheus and said “Zacheus, come down. I must go to your house, today.” The crowd went nuts. “Why him?” they asked.
Simple. Genuine seekers get seen by the One they seek.
