GRACE WINSSample

There is nothing that can transform us like Jesus can. Saul, a vehement persecutor of the church, became Paul the Apostle, author of many books in the Bible and prolific builder of the early church. Simon “the reed” became Peter “the rock” on which Jesus would build His church. And, in this passage, we see that Zacchaeus, a notoriously stingy, money-clinging, people-cheating tax collector with a bad reputation, has one meal with Jesus and then declares that he will give 50% of all he owns to the poor and pay back 4 times what he owes the people he has cheated. 

When we encounter Jesus and see Him for who He truly is, we have a choice to receive Him and change our lifestyle into one that honors both God and people, or to reject Him and continue to live a life separated from Him and ruled by sinfulness. In this passage, Jesus boldly invites himself into Zacchaeus’ home. By this, we learn that Jesus is not afraid of our mess, of our real life, of the things we try to hide from Him, of the things for which we feel ashamed. He wants us to welcome Him right into the middle of it all. He doesn’t condemn us. He loves us, desiring for us to be real, not fake; desiring to relieve us from the bondage of sin and death and show us what living truly looks like. 

This new way of living can look like sacrifice. It can look like “letting go.” But of course, in order to receive something, we must have an open hand; you cannot receive a gift if your hands are full of all sorts of other things. Receiving Jesus requires us to let go of our old way of living and pursue a new way of living. When we come face to face with Jesus, when we see His goodness and His heart, when we see that He is God, our response is a “letting go” of self-focused and selfish living and an embrace of living to bless those around us.  

Matthew 10:39 says, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Jesus radically transforms our worldview and our lifestyle. Personally, I’ve found sometimes this response can be quick like Zacchaeus’s was, or sometimes it is a wrestling match between “self” focus on my personal desires and what God is asking of me. Grace has already won, sin has been defeated—but it’s my job to allow this winning grace into my own life. It’s my job to trust Jesus always has the intention of bringing good not evil, so I can follow Him with an open hand of obedience, being generous and loving to the world around me. You are called to bring more of His love into the world. Let’s be people who have an open hand, obedient heart, and an ear that hears His heart for the world—and responds radically like Zacchaeus. 

- Georgie Kelsey