October 30, 2014 (Thursday)
“Zaccheus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he..” goes the children’s song about a tax collector who met Jesus. The song could have been, “Zaccheus was a RICH little man, a RICH little man was he..” He was the Chief Tax Collector; many tax collectors worked for him. He received a portion of their collections as well as his own. They all served the Romans who allowed the tax collectors to profit personally from their assessments. Though he was small in stature, he was a powerful man in Jericho, because he was wealthy, and wealth and power can go hand in hand. In spite of everything good happening in his life, Zaccheus was not a happy man. There was a void in his heart. His occupation had alienated him from his fellow Jews, and he had found nothing to ease the pain of loneliness. 
He heard about Jesus being the friend of sinners, and how He was on his way to the very city where Zaccheus lived. He was amazed when Jesus arrived, sought him, called him by name, and went to his home for dinner. His encounter with Jesus changed his life, and he promised to undo the harm he had done to his fellow men. He was saved. (Luke 19).
The Scribes and Pharisees found fault in Jesus for befriending people like Zaccheus and many others whose condition He described as “Lost.” Jesus replied to his critics by stating his mission: “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.” The original language makes clear that “the lost” describes everyone in this world. This is a sinful world, lost to a loving God who created us in His own image but is broken-hearted because of our insistence on doing things our own way without Him. We are lost to Him,
lost to our higher nature, lost to all the good we could have done with Him, lost to joy, lost to everything good and holy, because we have rejected God.
But there is good news. Did you know that the word, “gospel,” means “good news?” The good news is that Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners. He came because of the Heavenly Father’s love for lost humanity, and gave Himself on the Cross to purchase our salvation. He came to seek and to save the lost.
It is our mission to tell the world and show the world in our daily lives that Jesus brings salvation, love, joy and peace to those who accept Him as Savior. Have you received Jesus into your heart by faith? He knocks at your heart’s door this very day. Please open the door and invited Him in. He will do you good.