Do you know the story of Zacchaeus? In a nutshell, he was a small man with a big bank account based on his willingness to work for the government extracting taxes (sometimes unfairly) from people in Jericho. Basically, he was generally considered a despicable traitor, and I’ll bet he didn’t get invited to many dinner parties.
Thankfully, Zacchaeus wasn’t satisfied with his life. He became a seeker. Specifically, he developed some heart hunger and curiosity about the famous itinerate preacher and miracle worker, Jesus, who was passing through town. But, Jesus was surrounded by crowds of people who were also curious, and I suppose Zacchaeus knew intuitively that no one would make a way for him to get through the masses so he could see Jesus. And, if he tried to push his way through, everyone would most likely push him out of the way . . . or worse.
How could he get to Jesus? He was too short to see over all the other men. Zacchaeus looked down the road and saw where Jesus was headed. There was a large sycamore tree overhanging the road, and this gave Zacchaeus a brilliant idea! If he climbed up into the tree, he wouldn’t be harassed by anybody and could probably get a great view of this famous person without anybody even knowing he was there.
Jesus wasn’t oblivious to his presence, however! Jesus knew his heart’s desire, so he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). Jesus invited himself to dinner! Imagine that. Everybody else hated Zaccheaus, but Jesus loved him and chose to have fellowship with him! The rest of the story records that this simple act of acceptance by Jesus brought out a response of joy and repentance in the “filthy rich,” much-despised Scrooge, and Zaccheaus promised to give half of his wealth to the poor and restore four-fold whatever he had unfairly taken from the people. The end of the story is a beautiful benediction by Jesus: “Today salvation has come to this house . . . for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9-10).
True repentance is truly transcendent, like watching a rose unfold from a tight, green bud or a butterfly emerge from a dead cocoon. When I read this account in the Scripture, I sometimes fear that I am like the self-righteous citizens of Jericho who despised the corrupt government official and would not make a way for him. Am I making it hard for someone to find their way to Jesus? How do you identify? Perhaps you’re more like Zacchaeus: unloved by others, or wealthy from being unscrupulous and hard-hearted in your business practices.
No matter who you are, Jesus sees you. He knows you’re there and has stopped to reach out to you today. His invitation to you is: “Hurry and come down!” Invite him into your home and heart. He wants to meet with you and fellowship with you! Allow his life to inspire you to repentance and change. Experience the joy of putting greed behind you and putting goodness before you!
No matter who we are, let’s make sure we’re not blocking anyone from coming to Jesus. Let’s become “way makers” to lead others to the true Way Maker and miracle worker who can meet our needs and change our hearts.
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.’ 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ 9 And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost‘ā (Luke 19:1-10).
Summer Setting 
You tell stories like no one else !
You are so kind! Thanks for the encouragement!! I’m sure your stories are very engaging for children. š