Little Zac & the IRS

Last week we went over the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10. Zac was one of those guys who started out with 3 strikes against him:

Strike 1 - He was a puny little runt.
Strike 2 - He was a puppet of the Roman government.
Strike 3 - He abused his position to steal from fellow Jews.

Needless to say, he didn't have too many friends. But Jesus didn't care about any of that. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Dude, let's go hang out together."

This simple act had a HUGE effect on Zac. Check out his response:

"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."" - Luke 19:8 (TNIV)

Let that sink in a bit. He's gonna give half his money to the poor, and repay those he cheated with 300% interest. What would this mean to his lifestyle? It's not like he's got all this cash lying around in big burlap sacks with dollar signs on them. He's going to have to make a radical shift in his buying habits. No more lunches at Qdoba. Time to sell the 2nd car. He's gonna need every spare cent to go towards making good on his promise.

Because these aren't just words to him, it's a commitment to a changed life. Jesus' response confirms that:

"Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."" - Luke 19:9-10 (TNIV)

Zaccheus was this 3rd rate citizen. The guy everyone hated. The kid who always got his lunch money stolen. But just this simple act by Jesus completely changed his life.

So this is what I want you to think about: Who are the Zaccheuses in your life? Who are those people you go out of your way to avoid? Maybe it's someone who's not like you - someone with a different skin color, or age, or level of income or education. Maybe it's someone who did something wrong to you in the past, or someone who you did something wrong to. Maybe it's someone you see every day, but your conversation has never gotten deeper than the weather and the Tigers.

I want to challenge you this week to connect with a Zaccheus. Find one person and make a connection. Strike up a conversation. Invite them to a party. Bake them a cake. Pray for them.

If we each make a concerted effort in reaching out to our Zaccheuses, what kind of effect could that have? Could there be someone just waiting for that connection that may have the same kind of life-altering experience that Jesus' invitation had on Zaccheus? Could God really work through us in that way today?

Or how about this: If we each reach out and connect with someone we normally wouldn't, what kind of impact will this have on us?