Jesus honours Zacchaeus' efforts to meet Him, and it is not a glibly vague reference to him as Jesus passes by. Jesus stopped in His tracks and addressed Zacchaeus personally. That's what Jesus does when we want to meet Him. Jesus stops and personally meets us.
We are left with no doubt that He wants to be with us. Jesus recognises Zacchaeus' need to feel safe and loved, and accepted. So He tells Zacchaeus that they will now go to his house. The crowd is infuriated. They cannot understand why Jesus would give such attention to this sinful man. One can almost hear the gossip
going on. But Jesus does not care about popular opinion. Jesus sees Zacchaeus' genuine desire. He publically accepts Zaccheaus as one of His beloved people.
It is not that Jesus is naïve. He knows our sins all too well. He also knows when we genuinely want to receive Jesus into our
lives.
Take some time out today to sit in God's loving gaze.
How does God look at you?
What and who does God see?
Allow God to reach into those spaces within you beyond words or description.
What does God say to you or do for you?
Allow the labels the world has pasted all over you to gently soak away in the warmth of God's presence. Let God tell you who you are.
