He entered Jericho and was passing through it. ² A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.  ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." ⁶ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. ⁷ All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." ⁸ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." ⁹ Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."   ^NRS Luke 19:1

The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus is unique in that Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house, but Zacchaeus felt honored to have Jesus “drop by.”  He was pleased to have Jesus as his guest.  I suppose it would be a little like having the President of the United State call and say he was going to be stopping by.  Whether or not you agree with him, it would be hard not to feel honored that you were selected to host the President. 

I remember when the head of men’s ministries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Jack Sutton, talked about the importance of invitation.  He shared numerous things about establishing healthy congregations.  One such thing was the importance of asking people to be involved in the ministry of the church.  He said, “There is no dignity in being a volunteer.”  That is not to say we should not volunteer.  His point was that people need to be asked to do things.  In the church, we need to ask people to do ministries because the simple act of asking adds value to a person’s life. 

Gene Bedley has said, “Invitations are to self-esteem as a filament is to a light bulb.”
At one time I hated calling people to ask them to be involved in the ministries of the church because I knew how busy some people were.  Upon realizing what Gene Bedley was saying, I changed my motivation for inviting them to be involved in the ministry of the Body of Christ, the church.  I began inviting people to share in ministry, realizing that even if they said no, I was adding value to their life.  Simply asking adds value to the lives of people.  Although volunteering is a magnificent thing, all of us like to be invited.  The reason, invitation adds value to another’s life.

Dawn Breaker #78:  Inviting people adds value to their life.  Perhaps the greatest invitation we can extend to someone is for him or her to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 
 

"There are a number of guidelines I try to follow in life and ministry. I find that when I follow them, situations sometimes become like the rising of the sun.  There is a luminous glow turning to great light, and occasionally, inspiration.  When I don't follow these adopted guidelines, they sometimes become Don breakers, making life frustrating at best.   I do not suggest you should live by all the principles I choose for my life.  If they are helpful for you, make them your own.  They work for me."
                                                                                                                 Don Shelton