Stay in Our Heart, Jesus!

“Zaccheus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house," Luke 19:5

I've read this story about Zacchaeus, the tax collector, so many times and each time I picture in my head a short, funny man, a cartoon like character, with no dignity.

But the other side of Zaccheus, I never really thought about. After all, he was a real person just like Jesus is real, not a cartoon character. Zacchaeus was probably a smart man, intelligent, to get to be one of the most influential tax collectors. And because he was shunned and despised, he was probably lonely. And perhaps he had dignity of another kind. He was very rich, extremely wealthy, and his clothes would have been of the finest cloth and tailoring. 

It must have taken a lot for him to climb a tree to see Jesus. He had to shed his pride. He became like a child again. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will NEVER enter the Kingdom of Heaven." 

Jesus saw Zacchaeus' heart. The eagerness, the longing to be accepted by Jesus, the willingness to give up the life he had. And so Jesus, looking up said, "I'm going to stay at your house today!" And Zacchaeus was like a little kid, unmindful of what he must have looked like, scrambling down the tree, eagerly, joyfully.

Jesus always sees that part of us, no matter how small, that longs to please Him. That part of our heart that desires to be united with the One who loves us best. And when He sees that, He invites us, "Today I want to stay at your house!" It doesn't matter what we've done before. If we clamber down from our indifference, our pride, our selfishness, in humility and determination, eagerly, joyfully, Jesus will come to stay in our heart!