Come

Luke 19:5-6 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

Perhaps this is one of the better known and best loved short stories in all of scripture. Who among us growing up in Sunday school has not sung the song relating to this story of Zacchaeus, the wee little man? And yet, this story has amazing power in its teaching about giving up everything and following Jesus. That really is the purpose of the story, you know--not that Jesus was going to his house but that Jesus was calling him to change his life.

Change his life it did. If you follow the story, you will see that Zacchaeus made a radical life change which started that very moment with his Jesus encounter. He gave back things he had wrongly taken; he restored over and above what he had stolen and he gave half of everything to the poor. Significant for sure! However, I think the greatest thing he did was after this first encounter. Jesus said it this way, “Today salvation has come to your house.”

What was the core change in Zacchaeus? Was it how he handled money or power? No, I think it was how he lived from that moment on. For many of us, it’s easy to make a declaration of change at the moment of encountering Jesus, but the proof is in how we finish the course set before us. Quick change rarely finds its completion in lasting and significant things. It is only in sustained living the Jesus Walk that we sill find at the end of the journey the life of fulfillment and joy that we were seeking.

This radical call from Jesus to Zacchaeus is the same call to each of us. “Come down; I’m coming to your house today.” It’s the same call each and every day in the life of a Christ follower. The way you choose each day is directly related to your joy and obedience in following the life Christ has planned for you.

Zacchaeus could have ignored this call from Jesus. He could have said, “Not me, not now.” Yet he came down and the passage tells us, “welcomed Him gladly.” Salvation came to Zacchaeus because he responded and in so doing, his life was changed.

Jesus calls each of us to come, follow, and receive.

Blessings, Rip