MAKING IT RIGHT

MAKING IT RIGHT

READ:
Luke 19:1-10

If I have taken anything from
anyone by false accusation, I
restore fourfold.  -Luke 19:8

It was a perfect day for our garage sale-bright and warm.  People rummaged through clothing, paperbacks, and mismatched dishes.  I noticed a young woman looking at a string of white beads.  A few minutes later, the necklace vanished along with its admirer.  I spotted her in the street, jogged the length of my driveway, and discovered the missing jewelry nestled in her palm.  As we faced each other with the knowledge of what had happened, she volunteered to pay for the stolen item.

Zacchaeus, the tree-climbing tax collector, met Jesus and was changed.  He vowed to repay four times the amount of money he had dishonestly taken from others (Luke 19:8).  In those days, tax collectors frequently overcharged citizens and then pocketed the extra funds.  Zacchaeus' eagerness to pay back the money and to donate half of what he owned to the poor showed a significant change of heart.  He had once been a taker, but after meeting Jesus he was determined to make restoration and be a giver.

Zacchaeus' example can inspire us to make the same kind of change.  When God reminds us about items we have taken, taxes left unpaid, or ways we have wronged others, we can honor Him by making it right.  -Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Help me, dear Lord, to be honest and true
In all that I say and all that I do;
Give me the courage to do what is right
To bring to the world a glimpse of Your light. -Fasick
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A debt is never too old for an honest person to pay.

INSIGHT
Jesus' compassion made Him beloved by the multitudes.  Many people were curious about Jesus but several went to great lengths to see Him:  the woman who pressed through the crowd to touch His garment (Matthew 9:20-22), the paralytic whose friends lowered him through the roof (Mark 2:1-5), and Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree (Luke 19:1-10).  In each case, their effort was rewarded by the compassion of Jesus with either healing or salvation.

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace