Two Reactions

Luke tells the story of Zaccheus,a small man, who climbs a tree to see Jesus. Jesus calls him down from the tree and says "tonight I will eat at your house."

Luke 19:7
All of the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner'."

Zaccheus is a hated man, he is a Jew by birth, but is now in league with the occupying Romans. He is a hated tax collector and a traitor, a collaborator with the enemy, not a real popular guy.

Our individual world's are filled with immoral, untouchable, and unworthy people. At least the way we see them. We decide in our minds what is good and pleasing to God. We also decide who is good and pleasing to God. We decide who God can and cannot use. We read in the following verses, after that encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus changes. He immediately gives half of all he has to the poor, he's willing to pay back anyone he cheated four times the amount. I'm not sure about how much money Zaccheus started with, I know he ends up with a lot less.

After an encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus walked away a changed man, he reacted to the truth.

Later in the same chapter we read of Jesus going into the temple where he witnesses the "rulers" of the temple, the ones who are supposed to get it, the churched people, cheating and stealing from those coming to worship God. The very people that should be setting the example are just like Zaccheus, they not only steal money they also steal hope.

In theory, these are the people closest to God, they of all people should know how to act. They do react to Jesus, quite differently from the previous example of Zaccheus. They plot to kill Jesus.

God decides who he will use. He uses immoral and untouchable people to change the world. Meanwhile the pious go through life unchanged and unrepentant.

Jesus came to be the guest of sinners, that means all of us. May we change as Zaccheus did.

Cost

There is a cost in following Jesus. There is a cost when Jesus goes from being an abstract concept or a symbol represented by a cross, to the ruler of our hearts. The price of putting Jesus on the walls or our homes or the bumpers of our cars is far different the the cost of submission to Jesus.

Submission cost everything. Our time, talents, money, other resources, make up the price we pay to submit to Christ. Everything we have is required of us to be a disciple. The security and comfort we may have, or think we may have in our wealth, also needs to surrendered. We avail all of these things to the work and the yielding of the Holy Spirit. We release our resources, and in doing so we are free from the chains we have placed on ourselves.

Submitting and surrendering everything allows us to witness miracles first hand. A warm blanket, a hot meal, clean water, a roof for some who don't have their own. Our resources become something far greater than we could every imagined.

Becoming a disciple has a cost. Everything, time, money, talent, are all paid to follow Christ. Our resources, in the hands of the architect of the universe, build His kingdom.