We are all life-builders. We are constantly building our bodies, our personalities, our intellects, our relationships. And very often we trick ourselves into believing that we are the sum total of what we’ve built. Underneath, however, we question, and we long to know what is truly important at our core. This restlessness moves us past our fears and surprises us by prompting us to act in ways that are contrary to what we have built and contrary to whom people perceive us to be.
Here is Zacchaeus, a man who has built his life through tax collecting, apparently taking much wealth at the expense of others. He goes about his days seemingly content with the riches he has accumulated and the reputation he has established.
Then, one day, into his life walks a man and Zacchaeus needs to know him. The restlessness wells up in him and he finds himself atop a sycamore tree. What is he doing? He never does this, and yet there he is.
This man who walks into his life is not just anyone. Zacchaeus meets Jesus, the man who lives and dies to tell us that we are important and loved by God.
Jesus does notice Zacchaeus and, not only that, makes a home in the tax collector’s home by eating with him and making sure that the restlessness that rose up in Zacchaeus and prompted him to climb the tree is not unnoticed by God.
What does Zacchaeus find out about himself? He realizes that life at its core is vastly more than the one he’s built by accumulating wealth. He abandons his stockpiling because he sees that his restlessness is known, appreciated, and understood by God. To know this fully, as Jesus proclaims, is to find salvation.
- When have you surprised yourself—in a positive way—by your own actions, and what did you learn about yourself?
Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International.