Reaching Out

10.06.14

Luke 19.9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”

The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 is a wonderful account of a man who needed salvation. Zacchaeus was a Jew, but he’d made a poor career choice of going to work for the Romans as a tax-collector; Zacchaeus had gone to work for the then IRS. And he was hated for it. To make matters worse, Zacchaeus was good at his job and the perks were a he got to keep whatever he could extort over and above what was required by his bosses. Let’s just say, Zacchaeus was very good at what he did, and he lived very well as a result.

What Zacchaeus didn’t expect was Jesus. I’m sure he’d heard about Jesus – almost everyone had. And when Zacchaeus went to see Jesus in a “parade” one day what he least expected was to see Jesus standing right under the very tree where he was perched asking him to go to  lunch.

Belong. By sharing lunch with Zacchaeus, Jesus communicated to him: you belong. That is the message of the Church to the world today: YOU BELONG. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, or what you are – you belong. You belong because God loves you and you are very important to Him.

Believe. And when people belong, they begin to believe. Zacchaeus said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” When one belongs, one believes. The person I’m dealing with doesn’t need me to tell him he’s a sinner, he knows that. But what happens to him when he belongs, is he believes and he believes, he repents. And when there is repentance there is right living: he behaves.

Behave. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.” Paul, you mean Zacchaeus was saved because he behaved? No. I believe Zacchaeus behaved because he believed. And the truth is if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you are saved. The outcome is salvation is expressed in belonging, believing, and ultimately, behaving. Zacchaeus gave his heart to Jesus that day and he was changed in a moment.

The Lord isn’t interested in my efforts – He’s interested in my heart. And what is in my heart will ultimately reveal who I really am. I am a child of the Living God. But don’t let my words fool you. Do I belong to His family and rejoice at every opportunity to be together with them? Do I believe in Him and live my life behaving righteously? The fruit of what I claim to be is expressed in how I live.

Father, You loved Zacchaeus and You reached out to him. You walked up to right where he was, and his life was changed forever. You reached out to me as well. I wasn’t looking for You, but You came and found me, and now Lord, I pray, use me as Your instrument of reaching out to others. Help me to help them belong so that they can then believe and then live out the rest of their lives only for You. Amen.