An outcast. A word we still know too well. A soul pushed down, cast away, driven to the margins. Labeled different, unworthy, unseen. But oh, if only you knew, God’s plan was never to leave the outcast lost. From the beginning, He was reaching, Calling them back home. Deuteronomy 30:4-5, “If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.”He gathers the scattered, Restores the broken, Gives possession back to the displaced. That’s the God we serve. A woman at the well— John 4:27, they marveled. A teacher, a prophet, a man of God, Speaking with her? She, an outcast, A woman, discarded, rejected. But Jesus saw her beyond the label, Spoke life where others saw shame, And in that moment, She was no longer forsaken— she was found. A blind man on the roadside— John 9:1-3,9, the disciples assumed the worst. “Who sinned? Him or his parents?” They equated sickness with judgment, A curse, a condemnation. But Jesus—oh, Jesus! He did not see a punishment. He saw an opportunity. An opportunity for healing, For restoration, For the glory of God to shine. And what about the sinners? The tax collectors, the thieves, the prostitutes? Society cast them out, deemed them unworthy. But Jesus? He walked among them, Dined with them, Loved them. Because love is not about deserving. It’s about grace.1 Corinthians 1:26-29 tells us, He chooses the foolish things to shame the wise, The weak things to shame the strong, The despised things, the lowly, To reveal His extravagant love. Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”He didn’t wait for us to be perfect. He didn’t wait for us to be cleaned up, Fixed up, Worthy in our own eyes. No. While we were still sinners— Still broken, Still lost, Still outcast— He died for us. Jesus, the friend of the outcast. The friend of sinners. Never ashamed, Never distant, Never hesitant to love. His mercy is new every morning. His sacrifice was once and for all. Your past does not disqualify you. Your sin does not define you. He has wiped away the record against you, His death, His burial, His resurrection— They restore you to life eternal. In His presence, you are safe. In His presence, you are seen. In His presence, you are loved. That void within you? Only He can fill it. For His plan has always been to dwell in you, To call you home. You are no longer an outcast. You are His righteousness, His prized possession. He is calling— Can you hear Him? You don’t have to clean yourself up first. You don’t have to earn His love. Come as you are—He is waiting. His arms are open. His love is relentless. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve run. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. His grace is bigger than your past. His mercy reaches deeper than your shame. Come home. Not to religion. Not to rules. But to love. To Jesus. To the One who never stopped loving you. God’s love is sufficient—for the outcast, for the broken, for you.