DECEMBER 4, 2014
Called
By Name
Read: Luke
19:1-10
[Jesus] looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste
and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” —Luke 19:5
At the beginning of
the academic year, a school principal in our city pledged to learn the names of
all 600 students in her school. Anyone who doubted her ability or resolve could
look at her track record. During the previous year she had learned the names of
700 students, and prior to that, 400 children in a different school. Think of
what it must have meant to these students to be recognized and greeted by name.
The story of Zacchaeus
and Jesus (Luke 19:1-10) contains a surprising element of personal recognition.
As Jesus passed through the city of Jericho, a wealthy tax collector named
Zacchaeus climbed a tree in order to see Him. “When Jesus came to the place, He
looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down,
for today I must stay at your house’” (v.5). Instead of ignoring Zacchaeus or
saying “Hey, you in the tree,” Jesus called him by name. From that moment on,
his life began to change.
When it seems that no
one knows you or cares who you are, remember Jesus. He knows us by name and
longs for us to know Him in a personal way. Our Father in heaven sees us
through His eyes of love and cares about every detail of our lives.
Father, thank You that my value in Your eyes
is not
determined by what I do but simply by the fact
that
You created me. Help me to recognize that same
value in others as I represent You to the
world.
Jesus
knows you by name and longs for you to know Him.
Insight
First-century tax
collectors were hated by the people of Israel because they were seen as
collaborators with the occupying Romans. Tax collectors often became wealthy at
the expense of their own people. As a result, they were considered defiled and
impure. This is ironic, for the tax collector mentioned here is named
Zacchaeus, which means “pure.”
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012