Rich and Zach

 

 

I have been writing an online prayer letter for a small group of women who are praying specifically for the President and Congress.  I jot down verses as I read my Daily Bible  and then compile them at the end of the week for the email.  But a couple of weeks ago, God took me down a different path.

 

It was April 17 and I was in Luke 18.  I read the story of the rich young ruler for probably the one millionth time and the next day, the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19.   I decided to look up the Levitical reasoning behind Zaccheus' giving.   Before I got to the explanation however, the writer said  how interesting that Luke would follow the story about the rich young ruler with a story about Zaccheus.

 I stopped right there. 

 

The rich young ruler was devout, obedient to the law, successful, well respected.  He was still searching however and wanted to be sure he had covered all the bases so he ran the question that was plaguing him by a new Teacher who had emerged ....one who seemed to speak with authority.  He had  one shot so he asked his most pressing question.  "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 

 

Jesus said, "You know the commandments,"  Don't commit adultery, murder, steal, give false testimony.  Honor your father and mother. 

 

He knew them all.  He was following the rules, coloring within the lines. Jesus must have concurred.

 

But Jesus added, "You lack one thing.  Sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure  in heaven.  Then come, follow me." 

 

When faced with radical commitment, total surrender, he could not do it.  He walked away.

 

Zaccheus, on the other hand, was not devout, not obedient to the law...had in fact abandoned the practice of Judaism.  He was rich, successful, totally not respected and not searching.  He just wanted to see the man about whom everyone was talking.  So he climbed a tree to get a good look.

 

Jesus stops, looks up into the tree and calls Zaccheus down.  "I'm going to your house today."  Not the Pharisees' house, not the rich young ruler's house, not any of the well respected people's houses....but Zaccheus' house.  Zaccheus was e...la...ted.  He was beside himself pumped,  because the crowd was watching as the Man of the Hour accompanied him to his house.

 

Zaccheus would have had his servants wash Jesus'  feet.  He would have provided a meal.  Conversation would have been relaxed  as they lingered over their food.  And during that time, Zaccheus' heart  changed.  And his mind was changed.  And his lifestyle changed.  He committed not only to Jesus, but he committed  to give half his wealth to the poor and if  "I overcharged anyone on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much."

 

I never got past the sentence in the commentary about how interesting it was that the story of Zaccheus followed that of the rich young ruler so I can't tell you how much more Zaccheus gave than was required by law.  But in a nutshell it was A Lot More.

 

If I had stopped my narrative after a description of each man before their one on one with Jesus, which man would you have picked to be the One Most Likely to Follow Jesus? 

 

The rich young ruler....hands down.   Definitely not the scum bag...he was not remotely interested. He was not seeking.  

 

Someone sent me an email this week that clearly substantiated  their claim that the President is a narcissistic  moron.  It had been preceded by emails that clearly identified the entire Congress and a particular ex governor as morons too.  My routine for the past four years has been a loud, "Amen, brother ...preach on"  and then  I'd forward  it to everyone I knew.

 

In four years, absolutely nothing has changed.  The president remains solidly entrenched in every belief he ever had, the majority of which I do not hold.  The Congress remains inept.  It is an act of God that America has not folded.

 

So twenty weeks ago I changed my tact.  I began to pray.  I enlisted other women to pray with me .... specifically for the President and the Congress.

 

A few weeks in I'm like....there is no way any of this is going to happen.  These people are not searching for God...they will not change their minds.   Their hearts are so hardened.  Even those who know Him are apparently ineffective. 

 

I didn't tell anyone I felt this way.  How can the leader roll her eyes at her little band of pray-ers?

 

Then I read about Rich and Zac. 

 

And God said, "What is impossible from a human perspective is possible with God."  Luke 18:27