Daily Reading: Luke 19
Scripture Focus: And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. (Luke 19.3)
Devotional Thought: When I was little and began to bother my mom, she would often say to me, "Go climb a tree!"
Desperate to see Jesus, Zacchaeus was prevented from doing so by the crowds thronging around him. Why did Zacchaeus have such drive, such desperation, in his heart? Was it curiosity? Many people are curious about spiritual things, and that curiosity could be an open door into their minds. Was he lonely or desperate for someone to love him? So many people are! Perhaps he was hurting and came for healing, or sinful and sought forgiveness. But, he was just too small to see Jesus.
So, he climbed a tree! And Jesus invited himself to his house!
After Jesus spent some time with Zacchaeus, he went on to Jerusalem. And as he “drew near and saw the city, he wept over it.” You see, the city was filled with people just like Zacchaeus - curious, lonely, desperate, hurting, and sinful. Just as Jesus did not condemn Zacchaeus, neither did he stand in angry judgment over the people of Jerusalem. He was hurting for them and with them. Jesus went to them, just as he went to the house of Zacchaeus.
Jesus comes to us, too! Perhaps you feel like Zacchaeus - too small to see or be seen by Jesus. Take heart, Jesus is looking for you, seeking to come into your heart and home. And he has already climbed a tree - the old rugged cross - to rescue you.
If you are lost and lonely, blind and insignificant, desperate and hurting, Jesus notices you just as he noticed Zacchaeus. That is what Christmas is all about: Emmanuel, God with us.
Prayer: "So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it some day for a crown." Amen. (George Bennard)
Psalm of the Day: 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. 3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah (Psalms 143:1-6)
Comments