"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today."...And when the people saw it, they all complained, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." Luke 19:5, 7
Have you ever been in a public place and noticed people with expressions on their faces like they were zombies or the walking dead? I was recently in Market Square in Knoxville, TN and couldn’t help but notice people that looked miserable walking around the downtown area.
It got me thinking about a song that our children learned at their daycare about Zacchaeus. You see, Zacchaeus was hated and rejected by many of the local folks in Jericho because he was a tax collector, not to mention he was also pretty wealthy. When Jesus arrived in Jericho, he singled out the "short man hanging from the tree" from the rather large crowd of people.
Regardless of being rich, Jesus recognized that Zacchaeus was desperately missing something in his life. Notice that Jesus did not try to fix Zacchaeus or correct him before joining him at his home. This, of course, outraged the crowd as Jesus was hanging with a known 'sinner.'
How many people do you pass by in a given day that are 'hanging from a tree?" We are not called to fix people, but share the good news of the gospel with others. We must slow down and open our eyes to the people in need all around us. When we do, we begin to follow God's will for our lives, and serve others just like Jesus did.
No comments:
Post a Comment