In this fourth message in the Faith@Work series, we use the story of Jesus' encounter with Zaccheus the tax collector to discuss God's radical acceptance for us and how that story models our call to be radically accepting of others. Following Jesus' example, the first step in radical acceptance is to understand that we are called to reach out to those who are flawed, and who may even find themselves unworthy of connection with God and others. In some cases, the first step is to see that, even in our flaws, we recognize our need for a relationship with God, and His calling on our lives. Our second step is to be with those people where they are, and our third step is to model what a better path forward might be.
This calling models our own faith journeys: we are sinners, saved by God's grace, and not by our own works. However, our calling does not end with our salvation. We are influenced by that same grace to follow God's plan and to influence others on the same journey.