Zacchaeus Wanted to See Jesus, But Didn’t Want Jesus to See Him
Is seems that most of us feel inadequate and unworthy. We think everybody else has it way “more together” than we do. Why do we, more often than not, sell ourselves short of our God given value?
We just don’t feel like we’re good enough.
This is not how God sees us!
Most of us have heard the Bible story about Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree.
As the story goes, Jesus was walking through Jericho. Zacchaeus wanted to see Him, but was a short man and had trouble seeing over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed up in a tree. When Jesus got there, He told Zacchaeus to come down so they could go to his house.
This upset the crowd, because Zacchaeus was a sinner. He was a tax collector after all. The people felt that he was unworthy of Jesus.
I’ll bet Zacchaeus agreed with them because most of us feel unworthy.
I think Zacchaeus might have climbed up in the tree to observe Jesus from a distance without being seen. That’s sounds like something that I’d do.
But Jesus did see him and went to his house. Later that day after they had spent some time together, Zacchaeus told Jesus, “I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated.”
Most of us like not being seen, because if we are, something might be expected from us, and this is scary.
Anonymity is much more comfortable.
Our egos are so fragile and we’re afraid if we put ourselves out there, they might get broken.
There are two points that I want to make today.
First, this is not what God wants for us. He has made us in His image and He has given us a purpose. If we keep it to ourselves, there will be a lot of people that miss out on the gift we have to share.
Don’t keep your purpose hidden from the world.
Second, we need to support those around us. Encourage them to step out of their comfort zones. Help them up when they get knocked down. Assist them in going forward again.
Those people who were upset that Jesus was going to Zacchaeus’s house saw Zacchaeus as the world did, not as God did.
We need to see people for who they can be, not as they see themselves.
God working in us can help us become who we are meant to be. God and us working together can help others become who they are meant to be.
Don’t hide in a tree. Get down and get to work.