03/23/2026
Look Up
Luke 19:5
Jesus definitely knew what it was like to be surrounded by a noisy, attention-seeking crowd. If you think camp is loud, crowded, and high-energy, imagine the feeling of people always pressing close in to hear your every word, gawking at the miracles you do, and reaching out to touch you for healing. Many people were constantly making demands on Jesus’ time and attention. While passing through Jericho, though, Jesus demonstrated that it wasn’t only pushy members of the crowd that got his attention. In the middle of a busy walk through town, He looked up, saw a name awkwardly sitting in a tree, and called out to him.
The crowd was probably very surprised that Jesus singled out Zacchaeus. He wasn’t very favored because of his job as a tax collector for the Romans and his reputation as an extortioner. Plus he was unusually short. The crowd was even more surprised when Jesus left them behind to spend some quality time with Zacchaeus. Why would He ditch so many eager people for the sake of one lonely man? Regardless of what the crowd thought, Jesus did it, and Zacchaeus came out of the experience a changed man.
Sometimes it isn’t hard to spot the lonely person – although they’re not usually sitting in a tree! Sometimes the real difficulty is that we just don’t want to go through all the effort of befriending them. Maybe there’s a reason they are alone. Maybe there is something distasteful that caused others before us to reject them. Besides plenty of others are clamoring for attention. befriending this person will be time consuming. It may be messy. But the lonely people are looking for an example of God’s love too. Don’t miss God-orchestrated opportunities to provide encouragement, share the gospel or give support. Look up!
(devotion taken from My Rock, Character Building Ministries)
