Luke 19:5-7 - When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name! “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick! Come down! For I am going to be a guest in your home today!” Zacchaeus hurriedly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the crowds were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
Disabled at birth by his short stature…he compensated for
his lack of height by becoming a rich man. He collected taxes for the Roman government
and skimmed off the money he needed to make himself very comfortable. Even though he was despised by every Jew for
his actions… hated for his wealth….he was still very curious about this Jesus
that everyone talked about ….and climbed up in a tree close to where Jesus
would pass by just to get a glimpse at what was causing so much excitement.
His excitement at hearing his name when Jesus looked up into
his face was unmistakable. He climbed
down quickly…and took Jesus straight to his house. He was used to the sneers
and grumbling of the crowds…he had dealt with that all his life. But this Jesus sat and calmly talked with him. While they ate Jesus took the time to love
him despite the sin in his life. And that was all it took to transform tis despised
sinner into a loving man with a heart to repent and make restitution for the
money he had taken wrongly from others.
Zacchaeus’ story is one of my favorite models of why we are
to take the time to love all people. Everyone deserves to hear the great news
of Jesus sacrifice on the cross…so that they can decide for themselves if they
want to make Him Lord of their life. We should never take the attitude of the
people is this story and think that anyone…rich…poor….of color…white…homeless…bartender…drug
addict…prisoner…battered….murderer… they all deserve to be loved. Some of them even seek love out like Zacchaeus
did.
I am guilty of picking and choosing who I will show God’s
love too. I know that I am getting
better…but know in my heart that I don’t always love all people the same. I let
fear of the unknown…or the fact that I have no experience dealing with one kind
over another let me make excuses not to speak or try to love them on any level.
I need to be more like Jesus…not afraid to look right into their eyes and
invite them to sit and talk a while about what God’s love has done to transform
me.
Father…thank you for the reminder that we are called to love
everyone. Forgive me for the times that I pick and choose who I want to
love. Help me to cross the barriers of
fear and have the courage to look into all the eyes of any person you let cross
my path. Let me count on you and the
Holy Spirit to give me the words I need to show your love to all people. Amen.
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