One
of my neighbors stopped by our house the other day. She’s a mom of two great kids who are a bit
older than Will. I told her about a
semi-traumatic event at our home: our very first attempt at cutting Will’s hair
with a home-haircut kit. She laughed
knowingly when I told her about his fear at the sound of the trimmer, his
tears, and our distress as still-green parents wondering if we made a good
decision in purchasing this kit. She was
encouraging and said that one of the things that helped her kids not be afraid
of the trimmer when she tried home haircuts was having one of their peers come
over and have their hair cut. Just by watching something happen to one of
their friends, she said, her kids immediately felt better about having the same
thing happen to them.
What
if Zacchaeus’ story brought his peers – tax collectors and sinners – from death
to life? What if all it took was one of
their peers seeing his total transformation – making a difference not just in his
spiritual life but in his financial and emotional life, too – and they wanted
that same thing for themselves? Jesus
was already known as a friend of sinners
– Luke 7:34 – so this event with Zacchaeus could have taken his credibility to
the next level. To make a
difference. To help someone else learn
that they are incredibly significant
in the eyes of God. To treat them the
way God thinks they deserve to be treated – which is exactly what Zacchaeus
says he will do when he promises to give away his money and try to fix the
damage he’s done to other people.
Acceptance through the gospel always leads to change on Christ’s terms.
Travis
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