READ: LUKE 19:1-10; ROMANS 15:7

Sometimes I find it difficult to take feedback from others. I put a lot of effort into what I do, so it can be hard to hear notes and criticism about the work I’m doing, whether it’s about my job, writing, singing, or just my personal life. And it’s even worse when the feedback comes with a rejection—like when I haven’t done x, y, or z, so I’m not qualified for whatever I was pursuing.

Back when I was looking for a job, I would hear phrases like, “Sorry, you don’t have the right experience,” or “We’re looking for someone with a different degree,” or “You should have become more specialized in this area.” Those rejections combined with negative feedback really stung.

But, despite knowing I will face rejection in life, I can take comfort in the fact that Jesus’s way is totally the opposite. Jesus loves us first. He doesn’t require us to do x, y, or z before He accepts us. His love for us goes all the way to death on a cross— and resurrection three days later. When Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho and He encountered a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus who cheated people out of their money, Jesus didn’t say to him, “Get your life together, change your career, and build a better reputation, and then maybe I’ll come over to your house for dinner.”

Absolutely not! Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). Jesus loves us as we are. When we put our trust in Him, He sets us apart as holy. As we follow Him, He works in us to make us more like Him, but different people have all sorts of starting points on their faith journeys, and at the beginning of all these journeys is the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus, given freely. Jesus loves you as you are, each and every day. • Naomi Zylstra

• Can you think of a time you faced rejection or harsh feedback? How did you deal with it? Sometimes feedback is helpful, sometimes it’s hurtful, and sometimes it’s a bit of both. Jesus wants to help us heal and grow through these experiences, and often He helps us through other Christians. Who is someone in your life who can help you sort through difficult feedback?

• How can knowing that Jesus loves us and accepts us first, before we could even love Him back, affect the way we love Him now? What about how we love and accept others? (Romans 15:7)

• What did Zacchaeus do after Jesus came to his house? How did Jesus’s loveaffect Zacchaeus?

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)