Loving The Unlovable
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! 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."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Tommy's Thoughts:
There are a lot of people like Zacchaeus in our lives. We try our best to stay away from them; we wish they are never around us; never existed in our lives; they annoy and disturb us immensely; the way they behave and the things they say irritate us so much; talking to them is so hard and forceful; we criticize and laugh about them in front of others; we only see the negative sides, faults and weaknesses of these people; we treat others so much better than them; they are just so unlovable to us. But, somehow we are stuck with them around in our lives.
After I’ve accepted Christ; He showed to me how wrong my attitude and thinking were towards these people. Christ as an example himself, teaches me to love and show kindness even to those who are so unlovable to us. Later, I began to ask myself how Jesus would respond when interacting with these people. Through this, I was able to see through their faults, and accept and respond to them with kindness and fairness.
Dear Lord, I know it’s so easy to forget what I have just written above. Help me to remember them always. Lord, teach me to treat these people fairly with no favoritism. Teach me also the love and compassion Jesus has for these people. Thank You Lord for changing my heart, to love even those who are lost and seems unlovable to us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Bee's Thoughts:
It's easy to love the lovable isn't it? But to love the unlovable is difficult, if not impossible. Many good relationship turns sour when at least one party becomes unlovable.
I was at my brim of death today at the dental clinic due to vasoconstrictor effect from the anesthesia. At that moment my mind went blank and I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die without any close one beside me. Tears just automatically flowed uncontrollably. Not that I fear death, but I thought I have no chance to say "goodbye" to those close to me before I go.
Yes, I did feel angry with the incompetency of the dental officer who did the injection for me. But I do not wish to lodge a complaint against the hospital for not having a specialist to guide her during the process. I don't wish to ruin her career. Thank God that I am still alive to blog here.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for loving me, the unlovable. Thank You for helping me to love the unlovable too. Should I die, let me die without regret. Amen.
.......the devotion of Bee and Tommy
