How determined are we...
Illustration
Object:
How determined are we to see our Lord? Is it worth the pain of being faithful to our church? What if the Lord's business conflicts with something else we want to do? Would we climb the highest mountain?
I read about a sports enthusiast who sacrificed his time and money to see a football hero when he came to town. Another wanted to see a famous actress whom he adored! What would a businessman do if he had a chance to meet Warren Buffett? If we make a list of those we would sacrifice anything to see, where would Jesus come on our list?
Zacchaeus was short and probably not an athlete, but he climbed a tree. (I would not dream of climbing a tree to see the president for fear of killing myself!) Jesus saw his effort and rewarded him by having supper with him. The people were shocked because this man was on the low end of the totem pole. What if I were invited to visit a mafioso? What would my members say? I had many around my church in South Philadelphia years ago, and all my people knew where they lived. What if I were invited to dine with an imam? How could I associate with a Muslim? You name some person who would bring shame on you if you related to them in any way.
To show the genuineness of Zacchaeus' motive, he offered to give back all the money he had misappropriated from those whom he collected taxes from. It was his livelihood! He was not just offering to pay back what he owed, he offered to give back more than he owed! He was going to extremes! In so many passages it seems like Jesus is reaching out to lost sheep like that tax collector. So maybe we need to realize we also are the lost sheep and we need to humbly give ourselves to our good shepherd! Without our Lord Jesus we are lost.
How can we measure our zeal for our Lord? You might have to start with your pocketbook like Zacchaeus did!
I read about a sports enthusiast who sacrificed his time and money to see a football hero when he came to town. Another wanted to see a famous actress whom he adored! What would a businessman do if he had a chance to meet Warren Buffett? If we make a list of those we would sacrifice anything to see, where would Jesus come on our list?
Zacchaeus was short and probably not an athlete, but he climbed a tree. (I would not dream of climbing a tree to see the president for fear of killing myself!) Jesus saw his effort and rewarded him by having supper with him. The people were shocked because this man was on the low end of the totem pole. What if I were invited to visit a mafioso? What would my members say? I had many around my church in South Philadelphia years ago, and all my people knew where they lived. What if I were invited to dine with an imam? How could I associate with a Muslim? You name some person who would bring shame on you if you related to them in any way.
To show the genuineness of Zacchaeus' motive, he offered to give back all the money he had misappropriated from those whom he collected taxes from. It was his livelihood! He was not just offering to pay back what he owed, he offered to give back more than he owed! He was going to extremes! In so many passages it seems like Jesus is reaching out to lost sheep like that tax collector. So maybe we need to realize we also are the lost sheep and we need to humbly give ourselves to our good shepherd! Without our Lord Jesus we are lost.
How can we measure our zeal for our Lord? You might have to start with your pocketbook like Zacchaeus did!
