Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him,“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 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.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)
Thoughts: Zacchaeus was a sinner who was thankful for a second chance. Jesus appreciated his thankfulness shown in concrete repentance and generosity. Salvation is something for which we should be thankful. We should all show our gratitude for our salvation by the way we live- with a change. Greed can be changed into generosity. Apathy toward others can be changed to charity. When God comes to us and we see Him not at a distance but face to face, then everything changes including us.
Prayer: May my gratitude to you show itself in the way I live, O Lord.
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