Good Morning!! In the time of Jesus, few people
where dis-liked or hated as much as the tax collector. Zacchaeus was the
head taxman, a short guy who wanted to be a big shot. He was rich, he
cheated people, and he appeared to hate his neighbors and they appeared
to hate him right back. To his credit, “he wanted to see who Jesus was,
but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd” (Luke 19:3).
So he ran ahead and climbed a tree. Sycamore-fig trees have low
branches(easy access for someone of short stature). Its leaves and bark
were used as remedies for various ailments. And Zacchaeus was about to
get the biggest dose of healing he could ever imagine. All it took was
one encounter with Jesus, and Zacchaeus was a new man.
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."—Luke 19:8 (NIV)
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."—Luke 19:8 (NIV)
The day he met Jesus, Zacchaeus turned the hard feelings between himself
and his neighbors into kindness, help, and friendship. If Jesus is your
Lord, you’ve had just as real an encounter with Him as Zacchaeus did so
many years ago,...and you are a new person. Let the world see the
difference Jesus has made in you.
Can we turn hard feelings into kindness, help, and friendship? How could we do anything else,... after coming to know Jesus?
O Lord, how often selfishness will raise its ugly head, so help us, Lord, to conquer it and show Your love instead. Amen.
"Blessed is he who has found his work, let him ask no other blessedness."
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