Today's Passage: Luke 19
There are three very different stories stories in Luke 19, but I want to focus on the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who, in the world's eyes, was very successful. As a tax collector, he would have been wealthy and powerful...maybe even so much that many in Jericho didn't like him very much. Tax collectors were commonly very crooked in their business dealings, which might explain why no one in the crowd that day made any room for him to see Jesus as He passed by.
Now imagine the shock of the crowd when Jesus announces that He will dine with a cheating tax collector! They couldn't believe that Jesus would hang out with this "sinner". This is someone who used other people to make his life better! This is someone who cheated his own people! This is an outcast!
But imagine the further shock of Zaccheus' response to this..."Right now I'll give half of it away. And with the other half, I'll pay back anyone I've cheated four times over. None of this stuff is worth more than the chance to be with Jesus." He had it all in the world's eyes...power, money, fame...but he gladly gave it all up for a chance at what Jesus could give him.
What would you give up to be with Jesus? What would you be willing to let go of to serve Him? Another way to ask that question is: What is it that you hold on to so tightly that it keeps you from being all you can be for the Kingdom of God? Zaccheus was willing to let it all go...are you?
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