I knew Zacchaeus was a short man and a rich one. I also knew that he wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by, but I hadn't given much thought to the crowd who blocked his view of the road. I hadn't given much thought either to the fact that Jesus stopped by a particular sycamore tree--Zacchaeus's tree. He could have stopped anywhere, but didn't.
We are told that the road was full of people. I have a feeling they were calling out, "Jesus, heal me!"
"Heal my child."
"Rabbi, are you the Messiah?"
They were also probably trying to touch him--this man they had heard worked miracles. So, with all the crowd ruckus, what made Jesus look into the overhead branches of the sycamore?
Then Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, come down." He could have talked to the crowd or said, "Hey, you, what are you doing in that tree?" Instead, he called the little man by name, made a strong request, then waited. Would Zacchaeus come down or not?
After pondering all these things, plus more, I had to ask myself some questions. Here are some of them:
1. Zacchaeus didn't use his height as an excuse not to see Jesus. What personal traits, quirks, or perceived failures hinder us from approaching Jesus i.e.: I'm not good enough, I'm not talented enough, I, I, I,...?
2. A crowd of people didn't keep Zacchaeus from trying to see Jesus either. What exterior hindrances do we use as excuses not to approach Jesus ie: my yard work, my job, my time, my family--all those so called things in our lives?
3. When excuses and hindrances finally crumble, and we find a 'safe' place from which to see and hear this Jesus person, he will stop where we are (he knows our location) and will call out to us. There will be no doubt about whom he is calling because he will call us by name. The question is, will we come to him when he does call?
I would like to apply this story to the unsaved person, and her only, but that doesn't work well for me especially after I memorized the first few verses of 1 Thessalonians 4.
"Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you to do this more and more. You know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus." (my italics)Paul, Silas and Timothy then continue to spell out some of those instructions about holy and honorable living as well loving in the manner God had taught them to love.
At his point, Zacchaeus's story and 1 Thessalonians blend together. Suddenly they are both about me especially during those times I become content living both an unchanging spiritual life and natural life. Unchanging means not living the 'more and more' I am urged to live. Can I be more and more holy and honorable? Can I be more and more loving , and more and more giving? Yes, I can, to the degree that I desire and seek Jesus more and more, and ignore excuses more and more. Jesus desires me to come down from my lofty perch and walk more and more with him. That is what I also want, but time after time I climb back up into the safety of my tree, hiding in the branches and content to become an observer again.
By grace, he still calls me by name. "Jan, come down. I'm coming to your house today."
"Okay, Lord, I'm coming down." I replay, then mutter under my breath, "Wait for about an hour. I have some cleaning to do first."
"I know," he says, "let me help. I'm good at cleansing."
A life pleasing to God is not about I'm not; it is not about my things; it is all about you, Lord--more and more of you because you are.
Jan
(The more and more part of this was inspired by my Bible study of 1 Thessalonians, Children of the Day, by Beth Moore.)
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