
Imagine this......
You are in the city, and someone very popular is about to walk down the street. People are starting to line the streets to get a better look. The area gets more and more crowded. Anticipation is growing! People you know are all around- men, women, and children- people in your community. All of the sudden, you look around and you spot some guy sitting up in a tree. What do you think? Does it appear rather strange that some fully grown man would decide to crawl up a tree? Is he embarrassed? Are people looking at him like he is a bit off?
Well, that man is Zacchaeus, and he is waiting to see Jesus walk by! You might be familiar with this from the Bible in Luke 19:1-10. Zaccheaus was so short, that the only way he could see Jesus was to climb up a sycamore tree! That was REALLY going out-of-his-way, and risking public humiliation! He is going beyond what people normally do to seek God. He is risking his reputation! And- he was so converted by Jesus, that even though he had cheated people of their money in the past, he vowed to pay them back four times the amount!!! FOUR TIMES! How many of us would do that?
When God TRULY comes into people's hearts, they are changed! The change should be so complete that their whole lives are different- everything they say, everything they do, the way they react- everything! Now, sure, we are human- and we all fall occasionally and need repentance, but how many of us really live our whole lives for Jesus? How many of us are willing to risk our reputation, our job, our finances, our friendships, our lives? Many times in America, we hear this "prosperity talk" from certain spiritual leaders and the media! "We are empowered to do what we want and have what we want." I wonder how much thought is put into the fact that Jesus was crucified, and he told us to pick up our cross and follow him? I wonder how much thought is put into the ultimate demise of St. Paul who wrote much of the New Testament? He was beaten, imprisoned, and eventually beheaded.
So, how many of us are willing to put ourselves on the line? Are we willing to suffer some embarrassment at being different? Are we willing to have people whisper about us? Are we willing to lose a few friends?
Recently, I heard a story of a woman much like Zacchaeus! Even though she worked for years at Planned Parenthood, America's number one abortion provider, she climbed up that tree and risked it all after seeing an ultrasound guided abortion procedure! According to her, she saw "a 13 week baby in the womb fight for its life…only to lose the battle in the end."
http://www.abbyjohnson.org/about/
After this, Abby left her job, was taken to court, lost friends, and now she is speaking up about what is really going on within Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry! (To learn more about Abby Johnson's story, check out her book Unplanned!) Her story illustrates the way they use nice sounding phrases to twist the truth so people won't understand what is really happening.
It's time for us to start looking! It's time for us to see what is happening. It's time for us to climb the trees of life and be embarrassed so we can see the way that Jesus wants us to live!
(Check out my other blog: http://getalife-itsyourchoice.blogspot.com/)
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