20 Jan, 2011
Hiding or Seeking?
One of my favorite stories in the Bible growing up was about Zacchaeus. First of all, it’s a name you can’t forget. Secondly, we get an image in our head when we think about this short man climbing a tree. And then we may sing a song (Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he….).
Unfortunately, we usually stop there and don’t really think about this man and what ultimately happened. Let’s look at the Scripture in God’s Story…..
Picture courtesy of ifreecoloringpages.com
God’s Story
Luke 19:1-10
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
What does today’s Scripture Story teach us about hiding from or seeking Jesus?
Being that Zacchaeus wasn’t a follower of Jesus, he could have taken this opportunity to hide from the Lord. Since he was short, it was very doubtful that Jesus would have even really seen him. However, we see that Zacchaeus was not hiding, but seeking out Jesus Christ.
How can we connect today’s God’s Story scripture to our lives?
Thinking of this story this past weekend got me thinking about how we are all like Zacchaeus and have the opportunity to either actively pursue and seek Jesus or hide from him. After we begin a relationship with Christ, we have to continue to seek Him. We can’t just go along with the crowd and do our own thing. Our goals and desires have to match up with what He wants.
Even after we see Zacchaeus being welcomed by Jesus, those around him began to condemn Jesus for being a friend of such a terrible person. We know Zacchaeus stole and was an unfair person, but Jesus wanted to get to know him personally and spend time with him.
The attitude of Zacchaeus is touching to me. In the midst of being put down, he showed that he had changed by saying he was going to give half of his possessions to the poor and then pay back 4 times what he stole. He was a changed man!
How can we connect today’s story, God’s Story scripture, and our story to others?
Some of our friends may be hiding from God. They may believe that if they don’t think about Him, they don’t have to deal with Him. We need to let them see that our relationship isn’t something that has happened, it IS happening – today, this moment, right now.
The next time you’re in a crowd, be mindful there are people that are hiding and not wanting to be found. Think of those in your life who may not seem like the most obvious choice of someone ready to come to Christ. Build a relationship with them. Be their friend. Let Christ shine through you.
Go out on a limb…..make a friend! And let them see Christ in you.
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