WORDS

WISH TO KNOW JESUS

Your primary concern must be your relationship with God

02/12/2020

By: Apostle Valdemiro Santiago

For a public person, famous and sought after like Jesus, crossing the city was very difficult and he crossed walking, says Luke 19: 1. As Jesus walked, the crowd grew and more people joined the walk, but Jesus had a goal, He knew that perhaps the greatest sinner in that city, who was Zacchaeus, wanted to see him.

Jesus knows the heart of each one of us, our thoughts and when a person makes Jesus his target, he wants to be with him, to see him in his life, Jesus, even if he has to cross a city or the world, He fixes it a way to be close to that person, to pass by that person. So it was with the blind man in Jericho, with the centurion, with the widow of Nain and with Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was like a general director of federal revenue, with the difference that taxes were not regulated by law, pre-established. He arbitrated according to the people who collected the rent. Zacchaeus was the one who determined how much was paid, so he was hated. But the desire to find God changed his story. A person may not be well regarded by society, he may live on the edge, but if he values Jesus properly, He changes his story. There was no way for Zacchaeus, but he heard that Jesus was crossing that city and he wanted to know Jesus. What will make Jesus come into your life and change your story is within you, the desire to be with Him, the desire to serve and please, your effort to seek, your resignation, your surrender. For God, there is no “time at home” or any other differentiation, if you seek God with your heart, with Him first, He makes a difference in your life. If your desire is to see Jesus, you will see. Zacchaeus' concern set aside everything to be fulfilled and was to see Jesus. He expected God's mercy in his life. Jesus knows who is interested in Him. Zacchaeus did not ask for miracles. Zacchaeus' only project was to know Jesus. It is what you must do, invest in your relationship with God. When someone decides to approach God, he is clothed by Him. Don't give up on that, invest in the relationship with Jesus, He changes your story. Zacchaeus did what he could to get close and see Jesus. Realize that Jesus called Zacchaeus by name, because He knows every inhabitant of this planet, he knows us by our name. Zacchaeus was certainly very moved. He ran downstairs and gave Jesus a warm hug. Those who saw, murmured against Jesus, gossiped that He was in the house of a sinner. Jesus warns, in this message, that no matter how sinful someone is, if he has the desire to receive Him, He changes history. Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house and, during dinner, Zacchaeus declared that he would donate half of his goods to the poor and that he would refund four times more anything he had defrauded while collecting taxes, than he had stolen. He was attached to that because he was his god, but when he met Jesus, he stripped himself and started to trust Jesus. Whoever knows Jesus learns to trust Jesus alone. Draw close to Him, know Him more, trust God. Tell Him how much you need Him in your life, make your relationship with the Lord your priority. It will make a difference.