THE TAX-COLLECTOR WHO CLIMBED A TREE AND CHANGED FOREVER
At some point in your life, all of you will get to experience the joy of paying taxes. As you probably know, once a year, we American workers dutifully give a percentage of our income to the U.S. government. Thankfully, our government usually only takes what it needs. Now back in the days of Jesus, there was a guy named Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus was a tax-collector. Let's just say that Zacchaeus wasn't very well liked, because he had this nasty little habit of taking more money from people than the government really needed. In other words, he was a thief. One day, Jesus comes to town, so the vertically-challenged Zacchaeus climbs a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus. So Zacchaeus is hanging out in this tree trying to check Jesus out, and then something extraordinary happens: Jesus looks directly at Him in the tree and basically says, "Hey Zach. Come on down man, because you and I are going to your house for lunch." Can you imagine what Zacchaeus must have been thinking at that moment? Anyway, so Jesus goes to Zacchaeus' house for lunch, and then something even more extraordinary happens: Zacchaeus has a major change of heart! After lunch, Zacchaeus gets up and tells Jesus that he's going to give half his possessions to the poor, and then he will pay back anybody he's cheated four times the amount he cheated them out of. Jesus' response to this must have been music to Zacchaeus' ears (and heart), for then Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house…"
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't fill in more details about this story, but one thing we do know: Zacchaeus collided with Jesus in an extraordinary way that day, and it changed him forever. The crooked tax-collector and thief became an honest and generous man. And the most important thing about that day? Zacchaeus became a child of God and a follower of Christ. Like Zacchaeus, maybe there needs to be a significant change in the way you're living your life right now. If you're honest with yourself, you know what it is, and most importantly, God knows what it is, so come down out of your tree and meet with Jesus today. Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was a cheat and a thief, yet Jesus didn't judge him. Instead, he loved Zacchaeus and accepted him as we was. The Jesus that ate lunch with Zacchaeus that day is the same Jesus you can go to right now with all your struggles, your sins, your hurts, and your pains. Jesus is calling out to you, so go to Him. That's what Zacchaeus did, and it changed his life forever!
GO DEEPER: Read Luke 19:1-10; Romans 6:6-7
