Restoring damaged people (4)

The Bible says, “Zacchaeus…was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was…So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree…since Jesus was coming that way” (vv. 2-4 NIV). The story of Zacchaeus teaches us that rich people can be as damaged as poor people. How some of them got damaged is in the story of how they got rich. When you violate your conscience, it’s hard to live in your own skin. When you trade your core values for money, your success can be hollow and your guilt heavy. Zacchaeus struggled with this: “Lord…if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (v. 8 NIV). If that’s how you feel today, Jesus is saying to you the three things He said to Zacchaeus in Luke 19:5: (1) “Make haste.” Don’t put your salvation off a day longer. At any given moment you’re as close to eternity as a faulty heartbeat or a malignant cell. Don’t gamble with your soul; get right with God while you can. (2) “Come down.” Humble yourself. Kneel at the feet of the One who loves you and gave His life to redeem you. It doesn’t matter how badly you’ve failed: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV). (3) “Today I must abide at thy house.” The word abide means “to take up residence.” Refuse to live another day without the assurance that Christ lives in your heart, directs your steps, and watches over all that concerns you.