There was a man in Jericho who was boss of the people who collected taxes; he was quite rich. He wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but couldn’t because he was a short rascal and the taller people blocked his view.
Ever resourceful, he ran ahead of the throng and climbed a tree; it was a sycamore. From his perch he watched Jesus walk towards him. The view was great and he finally achieved his objective; he got to see Jesus.
When Jesus reached the tree he glanced up and said, “Hey, dude, can I hang out at your place?
Not only did Shorty, as known as Zacchaeus, get to see Jesus, but he would soon have some one-on-one time. That was quite a reward for his diligence (Luke 19:1-10).
Although we don’t need to literally climb a sycamore tree to see Jesus, I wonder if it can be a metaphor for us to do whatever we need to do to see him. Maybe we need to slow down, not work so much, or watch less TV.
Perhaps a relationship is in our way or the desire to accumulate money, power, and prestige. Or could it simply be that we’re in our own way, stubborn, closed-mind, or procrastinating.
Perhaps each of us has our own “sycamore tree” that we need to climb to see Jesus.
What would you add to the list?
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
