Hey, Shorty!
Opening Prayer
God, thank You that You see me, You truly see me and You accept me still.
Read Luke 19:1–10
[1] Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. [2] A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. [3] He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. [4] So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. [5] When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” [6] So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. [7] All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” [8] But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” [9] Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How did Zacchaeus respond to Jesus?Zac ran a betting shop on One Tree Hill. He had a BMW and the largest television in town. But no friends. He was an annoying son of a tax collector, as they said. Also very short, though extremely sensitive about that. Don’t let him catch you using the town’s nickname for him: “Shorty.” Jesus was passing by, surrounded by crowds. But he stopped. They all stopped. He looked up. They all looked up. “Who’s that up there, in that one tree?” he asked. “That’s Shorty,” they all said. “What’s Shorty doing up there?” “He’s not really ‘Shorty,’” they explained, in case he should call out something embarrassing. “Yes, I can see that,” said Jesus. “He seems to be the tallest man in town.” For years afterwards, Zacchaeus would say, “He looked up at me… he—looked up—at me!” “But Uncle Zac,” all the village kids would say, “didn’t you give away loads of your stuff then? Tell us!” “Oh yes,” he would say, “that too. But when Jesus comes to meet you, and singles you out—well, nothing much else really matters.”
Apply
Invite a tax collector for dinner. If you don’t know any tax collectors, any really odd person that nobody likes will do.
Closing prayer
Jesus, help me to follow You in truth and to see and respond to others as You do.
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