For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)
Pursuing God has a cost. We can’t follow Jesus without it impacting the way we are used to living our lives. If you claim that you are following Jesus today, but you live your life the same way you did before following Jesus, something is off.
Jesus knew the hearts of both the rich man as well as Zacchaeus. He wasn’t surprised by their responses when he spoke to them. Jesus knows your heart too. Do you have something in your life that you love more than God? What are the idols that you serve? Maybe for you it isn’t money. Maybe you don’t have enough money to serve, but do you love your time more than you love Jesus? Is spending time doing other things more important to you than spending time reading Scripture and praying? Do you hold your family higher than you do God?
Riches and comforts here on earth can separate our hearts from the message of Jesus. To be followers of Christ, we have to give up the masters we serve here so that our entire lives are about serving God. This kind of love and devotion will change everything! Our community will know that there is something different about us when we love God first. Loving God first means that we will care more about serving others than we do about serving ourselves.
Be like Zacchaeus and make a difference in your community for Christ.
Angela Spangler is the director of Fairmount Campground of the Crossroad’s District of The Wesleyan Church. Her passion is to build community around the gospel of Christ.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
