For I'm going to your house TODAY!!!

I'm so delighted with the grace message. Jesus comes in the middle of our messy lives and He changes us. No striving. No fixing ourselves up to be good enough. We are transformed not by our 'good works' but by His Spirit. I'm excited to be getting new revelation of Grace everyday.

I was thinking about Sunday School songs and how some of them might give us the wrong impression of Grace. Some songs might cause us to believe that we have to strive to be accepted and used of the Lord. We need to have it cemented in our hearts and minds that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8) and the same is true after we are born-again. We are not striving to get God's favor or approval but resting or accepting by faith that Jesus has paid the whole price for every messy thing in our lives.

I was thinking about the song "Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man". You can listen here if you never had this song in your Sunday School growing up.

Take a minute and think about this account in the Gospels. Zacchaeus was a tax-collector. I'm not sure who was despised more in Jesus era, the tax-collectors or the prostitutes. But somehow Zacchaeus knew that Jesus must be the answer to the emptiness in his life. He didn't want to be spat upon by the crowds since he knew they hated him. He skulked in the shadows and since he was a short man, he climbed up a tree to try to see and possibly hear better as Jesus was walking and talking with the crowds of people.

Some must have been whispering, "Zacchaeus is up in the tree....why in the world would he think Jesus would want him hanging around...?"

He said, "Zacchaeus, come down from there! Today I am going to your house." That was outrageous! Jesus going to the house of such a sinner. He was probably considered the worst scoundrel in town. He was the worst of the worst and Jesus was going to his house for fellowship?

Zacheous didn't argue with Jesus. He didn't say, "Lord, give me a day to clean stuff up in my house". He must have had all types of messes around. He must have had sinfulness in every corner of his dwelling place.

He allowed the Lord in! He allowed the Lord to enter his messy dwelling. It says in Luke 19 "So he hurried and came down, and he received and welcomed Him joyfully." And Jesus didn't tell him to get anything ready or clean anything up. He was not expecting a perfect reception. Just that He wanted to be welcomed.

People were indignant! They could not understand why Jesus would fellowship with such a sinner. It says that Zacchaeus heard the people grumbling. He felt he must DO something. He said he would give half of his money to the poor and restore back 4 times what he stole from people. He was loved by Jesus and it changed him but keep in mind that he said this to appease the people who where grumbling.

I wonder what we say in response to what others think of us?

Look how Jesus responded: Today is salvation come to this household, since Zacchaeus too is a son of Abraham; For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Then Jesus tells a parable to cement this concept deep within the hearts of the people. You remember the one servant who hid his minas in the ground for fear that he would be punished by the King. This man expected punishment. His reward was punishment. Jesus was attempting to drive it home that people do not need to fear punishment from the Father. He sent His Son to seek and save the lost. He sent His Son to bring a fulfillment to the Law so that sin would no longer separate us from the Father. No more payment is expected.

Then Jesus says a very profound statement. "I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given,(you get and have His grace) but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away. The indignant king ended by saying But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!" Jesus desired for us to know for certain that we are only saved by grace through faith. We can't do stuff to be made good enough for His righteousness.

I'm sure the people were shocked and I'm very certain that Zacchaeus' life was transformed by His grace.