Zacchaeus
(Reminder: I’m doing an A to Z devotional blog.)
We find Zacchaeus at the top of a sycamore tree in Luke 19. He was so short he was unable to see over the crowd of people lining the street. Everyone had gathered to see Jesus coming into town.
Zach wasn’t simply short. Research tells us he was under 4’ 10.” But I love the fact that he didn’t allow his limitations to become an excuse for seeing Jesus.
Zach had two things against him:
1. People hated him because he was a tax collector.
2. People considered him an outcast due to his deformity.
Not many people would notice a small person in a tree.
But Jesus did.
I’m grateful there’s no place I can go that Jesus can’t find me.
Think of all the distractions Jesus faced that day from those lining the streets:
“Jesus! Heal my son!”
The smell of freshly baked bread from vendors’ carts.
The sizzling sound of recently-caught fish frying.
“Jesus, my daughter is blind. Please heal her!
Yet He looked through the crowd and not only saw Zach but called him by
name. I imagine Zach had been called several other things. But Jesus
called him by his name.
“Zacchaeus! Quick! Come down. I’m coming to your house today.”
Within a matter of seconds, Zach experienced
A: the highest call imaginable: The call of God on his life.
B: the intimacy of God’s call: “Zacchaeus!”
C: the urgency of God’s call: “Quick! Come down!”
As Jesus entered Zach’s house, everything changed. Zach was transformed—so much so—that when Jesus was ready to leave, He stood in the front yard and announced the transformation that had taken place. And Zach declared to pay back all those he had swindled financially.
When Jesus truly becomes LORD of our lives, things change. What specific changes have occurred in your own life since having a genuine encounter with your Savior?
Discuss and share those changes with someone.
So far, theologians have not found any zombies in the Bible.
Love,
Susie
