Jesus Came for Everyone, No Matter Your Past

Good morning! Today I am in Luke 19:1-10. As Jesus entered Jericho and made His way through the town, there was a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the region and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus as he was passing but he was too short to see over the crowd, so he went up ahead of Him and climbed a tree to see Jesus. As Jesus was passing, He looked up at Zacchaeus in the tree and called him by name and told him to, "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today (Luke 19:5)." He quickly climbed down and led Jesus to his house with great excitement and joy. The people in the crowd were displeased because they said that Zacchaeus was a notorious sinner, and Jesus was going to be a guest in his house. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and told Him that he was going to give half of his wealth to the poor and the people that he had cheated, he was going to give them back 4 times as much as he had taken from them. Jesus told him that, that day salvation had come to his home, for he had shown himself to be a true Son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10)."

I love this. The people did not think that Zacchaeus was worthy of Jesus being a guest in his home because of the things he had done. Society looked down on him. He had taken advantage of his position of being a tax collector, taking more money than was required by the law of the Romans at the time, and becoming wealthy. He cheated his own people, so they looked down on him. Jesus saw past that though. Jesus saw his heart. And Zacchaeus's response to Jesus, brought salvation to his home. Zacchaeus showed a true change of heart.

Jesus did not care about what Zacchaeus had done, but He knew that Zacchaeus was sorry, and he acted that out by giving the money back and more. He repented, asking Jesus for forgiveness, and walking it out afterward. Jesus does this for everyone of us. Salvation does not come from our heritage or what we do, but from our faith in Jesus. He calls out to us, just like He called Zacchaeus down from the tree. He calls out us, and when we come to Him, and start believing and trusting in Him, He changes everything about us. He gives us a brand new identity in Him. We are not our past anymore, we are His children. But we must follow through with our actions, laying down that past, sinful life. Giving it to God, and following His commands to us. Living in fellowship with Him for the rest of our lives. He does this for everyone. And we must show that same love to everyone. That is the Great Commission for every believer. Go out into all all the world and share God's love with everyone and sharing the Good News of His Salvation. Just like Jesus sat with all the people that were deemed unworthy, we are to show His love to everyone, not hate. We all have pasts. We all have sins that we have to deal with and give up. It is not for us to judge anyone else. That is God's job, not ours. Now, that does not mean that we are to enable sin, helping people to continue into their sin, but we are to lovingly share God's truth. Not with hate or condemnation, but with love. As believers, it is our job to share God's Word. To share His love. To share our testimonies and how He has helped us. And He will help us every step of the way.