Summary: In the book of Luke, many people grumbled when Jesus befriended Zacchaeus. They wanted justice! After all, he had stolen! He had been ripping off the city’s people for years. You can almost hear them can’t you? “He’s stolen so much money from me. And Jesus goes and befriends him and that makes it all okay? What about my money?” What these people didn’t realize, is that grace is more than something to receive. It’s the most powerful change agent there is! You’ve heard the story... Zacchaeus didn’t stop at belief in Jesus. He didn’t stop at remorse. The book of Luke records that after spending a few hours with Jesus, Zacchaeus proclaimed, “’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.’” When Jesus befriends each one of us, He does a lot more than that, doesn’t He? He changes us from the inside out. And a true salvation results in the desire to right our wrongs, to make restitution inasmuch as we are able. How have you righted the wrongs you committed before conversion? It’s beautiful to receive grace as a free gift. But that grace should be working in us to change us. And it should reveal itself by action! What wrongs do you need to make right to better reach your world?
