“Today Salvation Has Come To This House”

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

As children we love to climb trees. Sometimes we get out too far on a branch and feel it start to bend. Sometimes the branch breaks.

Zacchaeus was a rich man, but he was also short. He would have been prevented from seeing Jesus had he not climbed the tree. Jesus knew exactly who he was.

Know that we too can be prevented from seeing Jesus. Pride can blind us from seeing Him as the Wonderful Counselor. Anxiety keeps up from knowing Him as the Prince of Peace. Hunger for status can prevent us from seeing Him as the true source of satisfaction – the Bread of Life.

What are you willing to do to get a better view of Jesus? Any sincere effort to get closer to Him will have a good result. God rewards people who earnestly seek Him.

To strengthen your faith in God, seek the face of God.

Our Daily Bread – February 23, 2016