Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:9
Two rich men come to Jesus. One goes away empty handed, and the other goes away with eternal life.
In Luke 18, a rich ruler—a respected young man of standing—comes to Jesus trying to make a deal. “Good teacher,” he says, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” For this young man, eternal life is just another acquisition, another deal, another commodity to be bought and sold.
Jesus sends the first man away empty handed. If you bargain with God, it will cost you everything you have. God doesn’t want to be part of someone’s portfolio. He wants to be God.
But in Luke 19, Zacchaeus, another kind of rich man comes to Jesus. Zacchaeus is rich but, as a tax collector, he is despised by most people. His small stature is a metaphor for his whole life. He doesn’t fit in—he can’t find Jesus as part of the crowd, but He wants to find him, so he climbs a tree. He doesn’t bargain with Jesus. He doesn’t even expect Jesus to acknowledge him. He just wants to see Him.
But Zacchaeus gets far more than he expected. He receives salvation.
The first rich man walks away without eternal life because he will not sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. But Zacchaeus parts with half (not all) of his wealth. He promises to make generous restitution to anyone he has cheated. And even though that falls far short of the requirement Jesus set for the first man, Jesus pronounces that okay.
Zacchaeus is given eternal life.
What’s going on?
I would like to suggest that Jesus cares more for our hearts than He does for our wealth. It took all the wealth of the first man to break open his heart for Jesus—a price the first man was unwilling to pay. But the heart of Zacchaeus was already broken open for Jesus. When Jesus entered his life, love, generosity and kindness flowed out.
Jesus gave him salvation and then He added another special gift. He told Zacchaeus that he belonged. “…this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
Dwight
PS. On 6/29/2019 in Inner Wealth I share clear and specific instruction on how to experience the transformation God desires for you. I also explain how to help someone else go through this process of transformation. I will be explaining the TPM (Transformation Ministry Process) as recently updated by Dr. Ed Smith. You will get a clear and concise explanation of a process that you should be able to use whether you are a TPM veteran or brand new to this type of transformation.
