Today at lunch, my three-and-a-half-year-old shouted “Zaccheus got up in the tree!” To my knowledge, she hasn’t heard the story of Zaccheus lately, so the timing seemed completely random. But I’m not one to argue with my preschooler spouting off scripture references, nor any possible movements of the Holy Spirit, so I did some contemplation.

Somewhere in the world (probably a lot of somewheres) there is a young person who has made a few mistakes. We all make mistakes. This person in particular has mostly made mistakes visible to others. The mistakes weren’t any more grave or more frequent than anyone else’s sins, but public mistakes make people turn their heads and notice. It’s negative attention. For a while, it fulfilled a need for any attention. But the faith of this young person is strong and they have a big heart. Sometimes they feel trapped because they want people to give them a chance, then when it’s revoked they return to more negative behavior just to get some sort of acknowledgment. They need someone to be Christ to them. They need someone to say “you know what? You messed up but none of that matters now. Come with me, and turn from the old ways.”

If we can just be Christ-like enough to give people a second chance (or a thousandth chance if they need it) then we help encourage that conversion. That conversion is exactly what metanoia means.