The little big guy

I am just finishing up a tried and tested series for my Junior Youth Kids - 'People who met Jesus' or 'Meeting Jesus makes a difference'.

This Sunday we are looking at Luke 19:1-10, the mini me of the series, Zacchaeus.

Meeting Jesus made a huge difference to this guy - check out verse 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."

Two things struck me this time around.

1. That although there were many things that Zacchaeus probably needed to change, he straight up zooms in on his relationships.

'I’m a rip-off merchant' he says to himself. 'Greed at the expense of others has been my style.'

So he gives half my money to the poor, and repays 4 times the stolen amount.

For us our relationships don’t usually revolve around money. But they may be dominated by gossip. In which case we can 'do a Zacchaeus' by stop talking behind peoples backs and start being trustworthy.

Or perhaps we are ultra cynical and biting. We can 'do a Zacchaeus' by stop cutting people down and start showing kindness.

2. Change is more than just stopping a behaviour.

In the story you don' see Zacchaeus just stop being a rip off – he STARTS being generous. Change is not just about stopping the bad but starting the good.

Don’t just stop being a gossip – START being trustworthy

Don’t just stop being a bully – START being kind

The change that we should be looking for when 'salvation comes to our house' (v9) is surely something like this.

There's a lot more to these 10 verses to be sure, but stumbling across this was a blessing.

Scott