Luke 19:1-10
1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”
8But 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.”
9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Hebrews 9:27-28
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Related Text:
Ezekiel 34:7-16
Mark 2:14-17
Luke 7:36-47
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Here’s the Deal
Today’s society has established an unwritten and often unspoken standard by which many people measure their self-worth. People spend their life trying to be noticed and respected for what they have and what they do. And if they ever reach a certain level, they feel better about themselves. But this definitely isn’t a biblical standard for achieving importance and respect.
The Bible’s standard for being influential is in complete opposition to those who are working to acquire and achieve status. Jesus told His closest followers that influential people in God’s eyes are those who serve. Think about that for a minute. If you want to be great . . . if you want status in God’s eyes . . . if you want to be influential and make an impact for God’s Kingdom . . . you must learn to serve others.
Trying to live by God’s standards and discover ways you can influence someone today by serving them. And when you do this, learn from it and keep doing it. It greatness!
