A thief was now publicly repenting! A tax collector who demanded more than he was entitled was now paying his clients back fourfold! A man who became wealthy by extorting others was now giving away half his possessions to the poor! What happened to him? In a word, Jesus happened. The Savior rescued this man who was running full steam ahead in the direction of hell. Jesus turned him around!

Has anyone ever asked you "Are you saved?" If you said yes, then you gave him or her permission to ask another question, “From what were you saved?" In other words, what does salvation look like? Too often, we settle for answers which never go beyond abstract terms: Christ saved me from eternal damnation, and of course, from my sins. But for Zachaeous, salvation was as real and as concrete as confessing his sins AND making amends or as simple as inviting Jesus to stay at his house. For us it cannot be any less real ~ and verifiable!

To encounter Jesus with an open heart is to be changed in concrete, practical and substantial ways. What might this look like? I used to steal, now I don’t; I used to lie, now I won’t; I used to hate, now I forgive, I used to despair, now I live; I used to gossip, now I walk away; I used to worry, now I pray. I used to be selfish, now I can serve for free; I used to be anxious, now I walk in his peace.

The lesson we learn from the story of Jesus and Zachaeous, is that it is never too late to start anew. But like Zachaeous, it will require us to be willing to step away from the crowd and pursues a higher plain to encounter the only One who can set us free!