April 3 : Luke 19

"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."
Do you guys remember the sunday school song on Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was a wee little man a wee little man was he! Although this passage was made into a fun childrens song, is there a much deeper meaning? If you think about it, there must be a much greater implication to this real-life story than a song made for dancing. If you go to the end of this passage we see that Zacchaeus ultimately receives salvation. But why? To everybody else Zacchaeus was nothing but a tax collector, a sinner. He was probably hated on by most people. He probably cheated people because Zacchaeus said he would pay them back quadruple what he stole. He probably did not care for the poor before this encounter because it seems as though he didn't really like to give to them anyways. But why was this act, by Zacchaeus, such an incredible one that it bought him a ticket to heaven? Lets examine it for a second. What we can deduce from this passage as well as the rest of the New Testament is that tax collectors were all about money. Apparently money was their life. Unlike tax collectors today who follow strict rules for collecting...tax, Zacchaeus probably charged a higher interest without legal reason to make some extra cash. But what granted him salvation was the promise that he would give money to the poor and pay back four times to those he stole from. It was because he gave up the one thing that probably meant the most to him. It was worth it for him for the sake of knowing Christ. Jesus emphasized this all the time. If you aren't willing to give up your old life for Christ you aren't deserving of receiving a new one. What do you prize the most?