During the local election campaign that concluded this week, I took particular notice of one TV commercial for a gentleman who was running for commonwealth's attorney in an adjacent county. The commercial pointed out some of the reasons why one might want to vote for him. It described him as being "squeaky clean", a former boy scout, a navy who is jesus  , an experienced attorney who graduated near the top of his law school class, a longtime member of the state house of delegates, good family man, a community activist, and one who had worked hard to pass tough laws against sexual predators, drunken drivers, and deadbeat parents.

When I looked at his website, I found a long list of organizations that he was a member of, or was affiliated with. I must say that I was quite impressed with his pedigree. And he was obviously the kind of person that most of the voters in his county were looking for, as he easily defeated his opponents.

But then I started thinking about the kind of people Jesus looked for and associated with when He walked the earth in human form. Curiously, none of them seemed to even remotely match the description of that guy from the political commercial. Perhaps Jesus was looking for folks who were much different from what the average voter would look for.

He was often found with, and even selected, people who were outcasts, misfits, sickly, maimed, timid, uncouth, antisocial, uneducated, unpopular, ugly, unrefined, boorish, impoverished, and even sinful. In other words, one rarely found any squeaky clean boy scouts among his band of brothers. I believe Jesus - since He is God, and God is unchanging - is still looking for the same kinds of people today to follow Him and do the work of His Kingdom. Remember, Jesus said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32 KJV)

Yes, while people may looking for a perfect, or near perfect, candidate when they enter the voting booth to elect someone for political office, Jesus is looking for something completely different. He wants someone who can be molded into the kind of person he wants him or her to be. So, if you don't live up to the high standards of some impressive politician, or even the much lower standards of your next door neighbor or co-worker, then congratulations - you may just be the kind of person Jesus can use!