God’s grace, love and power – Day 10

Zacchaeus, perhaps, wanted to see Jesus out of curiosity, but he never thought that his life would be totally changed that day. He did not foresee that Jesus would approach him and put a request to him: “I must stay in your house today.” Zacchaeus, I want to be part of your life.

Jesus calls many people, but they stay put on their branch in the tree. They never get out of the tree, they never respond to the request of Jesus. On Sundays, they sit in church and listen, but it is something they just hear and it never touches their hearts.

It is never an easy thing to answer when you hear God calling. Repentance is not just about saying a prayer to invite God into your life. Repentance means that we have to start living in an alternative way, that we start living before God and in his presence.

Zacchaeus realised this when Jesus asked him to come down from the tree. When they came to his home, Zacchaeus said to Jesus: “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” (Luke 19:8).

Someone once said that Jesus and sin do not fit within the same human heart. Repentance is, therefore, like what Zacchaeus did, to acknowledge your sins and to stop sinning, and never be a slave to sin again (Romans 6:12). With Jesus in your life, life can no longer be the same – everything changes. Your attitude towards God and towards your neighbour is different.

When that happens, Jesus will say to you what he said to Zacchaeus: “Today salvation has come to this house …” (Luke 19:9).