In a group of 5-year-olds, some of them will have shoes with Velcro straps instead of laces, which makes perfect sense, as even the “bunny ear” method of tying shoelaces requires more manual dexterity than most little children have. Velcro sticks to everything and everything sticks to Velcro! Any article of clothing containing Velcro seems to attract every loose thread or piece of fuzz. On the other hand, modern-day technology also has given us Teflon and nothing sticks to Teflon. Scrambling eggs in a Teflon-coated pan will offer the opposite result of accomplishing the same task in an iron-skillet. That’s why Bill Clinton was known as the Teflon president. Though becoming only the second president in our nation’s history to be impeached, he was acquitted by the Senate in what was a largely partisan vote. Public opinion on Clinton’s presidency seemed unaffected by either guilt or evidence.
As Christians, we need the properties of both Velcro and Teflon at different times. As we are called to be in the world, but not of the world, we continuously walk through the dirt and grime of a place governed by Satan and his demonic host. To walk through a sandstorm without getting a grain of sand on you would be miraculous, but that is exactly what Jesus did when He walked on this earth. He deflected sin as if He was wearing a Teflon coat. That being said, if Jesus attached Himself to a person, nothing could pull Him away. The key to Velcro’s bond is the amount of surface area making contact, and with Jesus living inside of us, He grabs us from inside and out! The ministry of Jesus demonstrated His ability to be apart from the world while reaching out to those firmly in it.
1Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:1-9
Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and as a government worker, his pay certainly was not excessive, yet he was described as a rich man. His wealth came from ill-gotten gains, as Zacchaeus stole from the people. Matthew, one of the disciples of Jesus who wrote the first book in the New Testament, also had been a tax collector. Most people in biblical times put tax collectors in the same category as prostitutes, and with our similar sentiments toward the Internal Revenue Service, we can see that times have not changed that much!
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
Matthew 18:15-17
Though Zacchaeus categorically was a heathen, Jesus reached out to him, uncaring of the amount of sin in the life of the chief tax collector. Jesus did not just speak to Zacchaeus on the street, but stayed as a guest in his home. Our Lord did not worry about how this appeared to others. How often do we avoid certain people, worrying that their sin will stick to us? Often, many Christians seem concerned with “the appearance of evil.”
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:22
What is the appearance of evil? Crossing the line! If a Christian man shares his bed with a Christian woman before they marry, though they both report that they are “just cuddling,” regardless of truth, the story does not seem believable! Yet often, we avoid ministry opportunities because of gossipers in the Church. “Someone I know saw John outside of a bar,” claims the gossiper on the telephone, in one of many calls, uncaring that her Christian brother had no interest in alcohol, but went there to share the Gospel with his wayward uncle.
As Christians, we are called to reach out to those walking in darkness. When God opens the door ever so slightly, we are to walk through the opening. That being said, God rarely places people in situations where they will fall. For example, the Lord would not ask a new believer struggling with alcoholism to go into that bar and share the Gospel with the drunken patrons. Certainly, the words would fall on deaf ears, and in our first steps as new believers, our coats are more Velcro than Teflon! Yet as we grow in our walks with the Lord, that Teflon coat easily can deflect the sins of the world, as we learn to rely on the strength of Jesus, rather than our own strength.
In the same manner, let your love be like Velcro. Though many of your closest friends and family members will let you down, our love for them should not waver! It is easy to get personal feelings interwoven with facts, yet it really does not matter who is at fault in any disagreement. By looking inward, it is obvious that each of us was at fault thousands of times, yet God continues to love and forgive us! He desires for us to love in that same manner. By reaching out to a sinful world, God continues to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Never forget that we all were a part of that sinful world when God reached out to us!
Let your coat be made of Teflon, repelling the sin of the world, but let your heart be made of Velcro, attracting the lost who have no place to go!
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
1 Peter 1:22
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