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| Photo by Lucille Zimmerman |
Dinner
in an Oasis
ByLucille Zimmerman
Are there people you would love to meet? People you
especially admire and look up to? People that would make you lightheaded and
giddy, especially if you were to sit down and have dinner together?
The other day I was reading about Jesus when He was on His way to
Jerusalem. He was nearing the end of His three year ministry. He was hot,
dusty, and weary.
He knew death was awaiting Him when he arrived.
Crowds were closing in so thickly He could hardly walk.
Pharisees were testing Him. Sick and lame people were begging Him for healing.
They were near a town called Jericho, only 23 miles from
Jerusalem. It’s the oldest city and it’s an oasis.
I’ve been to
Jericho twice. All around is desert, but Jericho sits among streams, waterfalls,
and palm trees. It’s a lush, green respite in a desolate area.
Can you picture it?
It was in this
town that something remarkable happened. A short little thug named
Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and scrambled up a tree so that he could get a
glimpse of Jesus.
You might be tempted to think of him as a “wee little man in
a Sycamore tree,” but he was the worst of the worst. You see Rome exacted a tax
from the Jews, and the Jewish countrymen who agreed to bilk money from their own people
for Rome, also padded their own pockets. He was a thug!
Zacchaeus must
have been especially hated because he was the CHIEF tax collector. Think of
someone like a drug lord, a pimp, or crime boss.
There are so many stunning things that happened there. As soon as Jesus
arrived in the cool, wet oasis:
• Jesus pointed up to the criminal in the
tree and hollered, “Hey Zacchaeus, dinner’s at your house tonight!
• Zaccheaus had heard so much about Jesus
he stopped everything to get a gander. Apparently these stories about Jesus
were more tantalizing to him than wealth.
• Zaccheaus rushed home to get dinner
ready. In his house, we read that he stood up and announced he would give half
of his possessions to the poor and he would pay anything he had extorted from
the people “four times over.” (Luke 19:8) In essence, by quoting the Torah (Exodus
22:1), he was saying, “Dude, I’m such a thief!”
But that’s what Jesus does when you encounter Him. He makes
you want to bow low, confess your junk, and be best friends.
Want to hear something really cool? That winsome Jesus wants
to have dinner at your house too!
And there is nothing you have to do? You might not be as bad
as Zacchaeus, but you’re no saint.
The cool thing is you don’t have to be.
It would be like Tyler, Rich, or Greta calling me up and
saying, “Hey Lucille, we’re coming over.”
You don’t have to clean yourself or the house up.
Just enjoy the company.
Lucille
Zimmerman is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private practice in
Littleton, CO and an affiliate faculty professor at Colorado Christian
University.
She is also the author of Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in
an Overwhelmed World. Through practical ideas and relatable anecdotes, readers
can better understand their strengths and their passions—and address some of
the underlying struggles or hurts that make them want to keep busy or minister
to others to the detriment of themselves. Renewed can help nurture those
areas of women’s lives to use them better for work, family, and service. It
gives readers permission to examine where they spend their energy and time, and
learn to set limits and listen to “that inner voice."
