God's Grace
Can the rich be saved?
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." - Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was a rich man, made rich by his dealings as a tax collector. But something changed in him.
He was so enthralled by Jesus and his teachings that he chose to follow him. In doing so, he would make restitution for all the fraud he perpetrated.
In order to do that and give half one's possessions to the poor, one would need to have seen something special, something so revealing about oneself that they have no choice but to change.
Zacchaeus chose to change.
The story makes me think that there is hope for anyone, even the rich who find it most difficult to give up what they have.
But maybe it isn't what they are giving up, but what they are gaining that matters.
Is it better to be ignored and despised or to be welcomed and loved?
Zacchaeus was welcomed by Jesus and that seemed to make a big difference in his life. Sometimes all it takes is to be included, and Jesus came to include all who were lost, even the rich.
Makes me wonder.
Who isn't chosen by God? Perhaps we are all worthy of God's grace afterall.
More to come,...