Hurry

There's obeying the Lord.  We should seek to do that.

But there's also how we obey the Lord.  Do we drag our feet?  Do we "find the right time?" Do we wait for convenience?  Do we take our time?  When the Lord speaks are we responsive?

Zacchaeus was a busy man.  He ran ahead of the crowd, he climbed and then perched himself in a tree. Running and climbing... a lot like the little children Jesus just talked about earlier in Luke.

Zacchaeus was eager to see Jesus, and more so, eager to host Jesus.

Luke 19:5–6 (ESV) And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

He didn't just hear what Jesus said, he was eager to do what Jesus said. Jesus said hurry, he hurried. Jesus said come down, he came down. Jesus said let's do lunch, Zacchaeus joyfully received him. What a contrast to the Pharisees and leaders who had things figured out. 

How do we respond to the Lord?  Are we eager? Jesus said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be the ones who get filled. David was considered a man after God's own heart. Perhaps because he thought 1 day in the courts of the Lord were better than a thousand days anywhere else.  

Do we give immediately when prompted? Do we open our mouth to the person when the Holy Spirit speaks to us to share our faith? Do we hurry to church or drag our feet? Do we hurry to prayer in the morning to say "good morning" to the Lord first before all else? 

I wait until the end of my day for devotions. Perhaps I should rethink that to the beginning? That I should indeed wake up and eagerly get to be with the Lord! 

Amazing to think we petty and small humans can have company with Him. That he wants us! I wonder if we are aware of the joy it can and will bring us when we respond to His desire to come in and "sup" with us!

Not only did Zacchaeus hurry to see Jesus, to respond to Jesus, and to host Jesus... He hurried to change his ways and declare it to others!  No waiting for when it "felt right" to give and serve and change things. He did right away. He wanted to make things right... right away. 

I know many Christians who wait to be baptized until they "feel it's right." Or wait to get married because the money isn't there yet. Or "pray about" a move God is nudging them toward for fear of the unknown.

Here's the thing. Jesus knew Zacchaeus before anything happened! He called him by name without introduction. I wonder if that's why Jesus came to his house in the first place... Jesus sense the honor and responsiveness of this man's heart!

What an example Zacchaeus is to us all. What a heart! What a wee little man! (You know I had to get it in somehow!)

FATHER:

I want that in my life. I know my time with you is precious and holy and wonderful. I am so grateful to be WITH you. You are good to me all the time. Even today a small prayer for a car radio fix was sent up and almost immediately a cost effective answer! What a great God you are! I want to want to be eager in obedience. Not simply go through the motions, but to long for YOUR courts and your renown. Be glorified in the manner in which I obey you.