The church pews are full of people living with secret labels. Those of you who have never fallen so mightily probably don’t even recognize them us. We clean up nicely, and our smiles are almost genuine. Yet we live with a knowing we rarely speak of:

I know what I am.

I’ve uttered those bitter words in moments of frustration and self-condemnation. Those same words recently tumbled from a precious woman’s lips. That’s when the realization slammed me full force:

We are not what we do. Our behaviors do not define who we are.

Sure, other people define us by our behaviors because people like labels. Labels are easy. Labels don’t require us to dig beneath the surface to find out who a person really is. Labels make it easy to skim the surface and never find out the truth of someone’s heart. Labels make it easy for us to draw a line in the sand and reject those whose behavior we don’t like.

I once heard a pastor say that his church wasn’t soft on sin. The unspoken, implied statement was that the church was hard on sin. Such statements create an atmosphere for hiding sinful behaviors. Strongholds only tighten in that environment.

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I think about Zaccheus: he was a chief tax-gatherer and he was rich (Luke 19:2). He was known around town for his behavior. He was labeled. Tax collectors had the worst reputations, and he was the chief among them. He was the worst kind of thief.

But even those with the most sinful behaviors want a glimpse of Jesus.

Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus so badly that he climbed a tree in order to peer over the crowd that was waiting for Him to pass through town. Zaccheus was alone in the crowd, atop a tree, just wanting to see who Jesus was…wanting to see what all the fuss was about.

Imagine his surprise when Jesus stopped in front of the tree, looked up and said, Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house (Lk. 19:5). Can you imagine his surprise? I wonder if he took just a split second to look around to see if someone else named  Zaccheus was in that tree with him. I wonder if his mind spun with questions: Huh? Me? My house? How do you know who I am? Why would you want to have anything to do with me? I’m a tax collector! Whatever his thoughts were, the text says that he hurried down the tree and received Jesus gladly.

What happened next is so typical. The crowd grumbled. They complained that Jesus had gone to be the guest of a man who [was] a sinner. Notice that they didn’t even call Zaccheus by name. The crowd, no doubt, kept Zaccheus at an arm’s length because of his behavior. After all, surely if they were tough enough on his sin, he would change. {Funny how even today that never seems to work.}

All it took for Zaccheus to change was a personal encounter with Jesus, who had made a divine appointment to visit him in his home. Zaccheus stopped mid-walk to his house and said, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much (Lk. 19: 8). It cracks me up a little bit that he said, if I have defrauded anyone. Well, of course, he had. And Jesus knew it.

But Jesus…

Sweet Jesus…

Not once did He make Zaccheus ‘fess up. Not once did He tell Zaccheus that he needed to change his behavior. Not once did He bring up his dirty, little label. He simply called Zaccheus by name and spent time with him. The natural response to Jesus’ love was a change in behavior.

Interestingly, Jesus’ reply to Zaccheus’s change was this: Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zaccheus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost (Lk. 19: 9-10). Once again, He called him by name; but this time he defined him by his faith. It was the only label Jesus ever gave Zaccheus, and it was one of affirmation: son of Abraham.

Jesus didn’t dive into a monlogue about how Zaccheus should maintain his changed behavior. He didn’t recommend a church. He didn’t tell him to find an accountability partner. He didn’t warn him not to fall back into old patterns. He didn’t give him a six-month waiting period to make sure his change was real.

Jesus simply rejoiced that the one He came to find had been restored.

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What label have you been given, or possibly even chosen for yourself? Alcoholic? Porn addict? Drug addict? Whore? Thief? Prostitute? Murderer? Adulterer? Liar?

Are you hoping for just a glimpse of the Jesus you hear so much about? Is that why you keep going to church? Do want to believe you’ll find Him there? Do you want to believe that an encounter with Him will change your life?

Are you disappointed that you can’t seem to clean up your behavior enough to fit in with the church crowd? Does attending church make you feel like you have to hide even more? Are you alone in the crowd?

Know this. Jesus is calling you…by name! But He is not calling out your bad behavior. Jesus is drawing a line in the sand, but He’s on your side. He wants to restore you and everything you’ve lost. He simply wants to love you.

Get out of the crowd. Ignore those who want to change your behavior. Ignore those who are hard on your sin. Get away from those who want you to wallow in guilt. Allow Jesus to spend some time alone with you. Allow Him to love you. See if he doesn’t define you by a new label…one you’ll be proud of:

Beloved.