If Jesus came up to you today and asked to come to your home
for dinner, would you say yes? Would you be willing to let Him in and dine with
you on such short notice, knowing that your home was not clean and the
refrigerator nearly empty since your plan was to buy groceries the next
day? Would you welcome Him anyway,
regardless of how things were with you personally; long overdue for a haircut,
or unshaven for a day or two? Or would
you offer Him a rain check for a better day when you had time to clean, prepare
a king's feast and have yourself all spruced up for the great visit from your
Lord?
In the gospel, Jesus calls to Zacchaeus and invites Himself
to dinner and it is possible that Zacchaeus was not ready for this
himself. Jesus did not go to Zacchaeus
for a feast or to see his palatial home all cleaned and ready for the visit. Jesus went to Zacchaeus because he was a tax
collector, a man in need of salvation!
Jesus comes to us the same way. He is not expecting us to be in our finest
clothes with a gourmet meal all prepared and ready. He comes expecting us as we
are, sinners in need of an all loving and all saving God. To be ready for Him is not to have our house
all in perfect order, but rather to be willing to accept Him when He calls and
ready to do His bidding and receive the free gift He brings.
Jesus will help us get our house in order. But we have to accept His invitation.
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