People Are funny but
Jesus loves us anyway
Luke 19:1-10: 1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was
wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short
he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a
sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came
down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw
this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give
half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of
anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said
to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a
son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the
lost.”
They all murmured or muttered about Zacchaeus. That’s what
we do when we don’t or agree or understand something.
We don’t have to mutter. Jesus teaches us three things
through this story.
1. God is a
seeking God. Why do we expect people come to us?
2 God calls us by
name. People want to be heard and recognized. Image is not everything –
relationship is what people desire.
3. Jesus
identifies with us, wants to spend time with us, even though He knows all about
us! Do we know our community, and are we glad when they come? Do we seek
opportunities to engage with them?
Be wise today and always – be active in sharing the Gospel.
