Let us medidate the word of God in Luke 19.
Let us learn from the story of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
—- Zacchaeus is wealthy and powerful yet he did not use his power to see Jesus. Since he is small, he can hire and pay a big person or big animal to carry him to see Jesus.
He is humble enough to climb up the tree to see Jesus clearly. Climbing the tree is not easy, he took effort, its not comfortable to stay on the tree to wait for Jesus to pass. Zacchaeus did this to intentionally see Jesus.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
—— Zacchaeus did not wait for second call or never hesitate to welcome Jesus. He did not think twice. He followed Jesus’ call immediately with gladness. He was happy that Jesus noticed him. He was happy to be called by Jesus.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
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.”
—- Zacchaeus was a sinner, he is the chief tax collector, but after called by Jesus he acknowledged Jesus as his Lord and repented at once. He repent not after Jesus leaves his house, not after a day or two, but at once. Immediately his heart was changed.
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
—-The reward of Zacchaeus’ repentance and obedience is his salvation and salvation of his whole household.
Let Us…
Be humble. Surrender your pride.
Be intentional in seeking Jesus.
Once called, Immediately follow with gladness.
Repent at once, clean your conscience, let God purify your heart.
Believe and accept that Jesus is your Lord and you will be rewarded with salvation. Not only your salvation but salvation of your household.
Father God in heaven, we praise and thank you for the wisdom you have given to understand this story of Zacchaeus. May we be like him. Let us continuously seek Jesus and everyday repent for our sins, that we may be an instruments for the salvation of our family. May we bring Jesus to our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors and to everyone we meet. And may in everything we do give glory to you our God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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