Press On

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. Hosea 6:3 (NLT)

Zacchaeus. What do we know about him? When we talk about this story we comment on the fact that he was short. That’s why he climbed the tree. We comment on the fact that he was rich. And those riches got him some enemies. He came by his riches by working for the Romans, who were hated by the Jews. He collected taxes for them. As a matter of fact, he was so good at it that he was the head tax man. And everyone knew that he skimmed extra off the top of the taxes for himself.

There is one thing about him that we don’t talk about as much. In Luke 19 in the Message it says he wanted desperately to see Jesus. The Holy Spirit was working on Zacchaeus and his desire to see Jesus was more than he could handle.

So he went into the crowd of people that despised him. I am sure when he said “Excuse me, I need to get through.” they moved closer together to block his way. At that point, he could have given up. He could have said “I am not good enough to know Jesus. I’ll just go back to my work. What would he want to do with me anyway?” But he didn’t.

He followed that pull in his heart. He put aside any thoughts of what the people would say and he did something that could not have been easy in a longish tunic. He climbed a tree. He did everything he could to get a glimpse of the man that his heart was speaking about. He put action behind the longing.

What about you? God is calling to you every single moment. He is the one putting the desire in our hearts to know him; to seek him. What will you do about it? Will you keep doing the same thing you do every day expecting different results or will you make a change? Will you do something different in your life so you can see who Jesus is, so you can get to know him?

I love today’s verse. “Let us press on to know him.” Whether you have to change your routine, start or stop habits, get away for some quiet time or even if you have to climb a tree, press on. Do it! As Zacchaeus experienced, it will change your world.

Beneficial Scarring

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. Philippians 1:12-14 (NLT)

There is a song that I’ve been thinking about lately called Scars by I Am They. The chorus goes like this:

So I'm thankful for the scars
'Cause without them I wouldn't know your heart
And I know they'll always tell of who you are
So forever I am thankful for the scars

Later in the song, the chorus changes to:

I'm thankful for your scars
'Cause without them I wouldn't know your heart
And with my life, I'll tell of who you are
So forever I am thankful

Notice the subtle shift? Paul understood this so well. Whenever he suffered, he knew his suffering would produce two things. One, he would see more of who God was through his suffering. He would learn of his character and of his grace. Two, he would be pointed back to the cross. Through Jesus suffering we also learn of his character and love for us.

There are many days I wish that I didn’t have to walk through some of the things I walk through but when I look back, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have grown closer to Jesus through it. I know I’ve learned who my God is and to trust him.

So, I too, am thankful for the scars. I am thankful for them because without them I would know Jesus a little less. I wouldn’t trade my scars for anything because that would mean less of him in my life.

I Know You!

But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Matthew 7:23 (NLT)

There are a few places in the New Testament that Jesus says things like today’s text. Sometimes like in the parable of the 10 virgins, they weren’t ready and he said it. There are other places where people say “But, we did this for you and that for you.” Almost like they deserve to go to heaven for their actions.

When I read these texts and hear Jesus say “Go away, I never knew you.” I shudder. It makes me determined to “know him.” And in my humanness, I then try to do more because that is how I am wired. I’m thinking I am not alone in this line of thinking.

Don’t get me wrong. The Bible is full of things we are supposed to do. We are supposed to go, serve and love. There are a lot more. Being a Christian is not an idle task. It’s a way of life that is full of activity. What gets us hung up is the motive behind the activity. We cannot earn our way to heaven. That is a done deal sealed with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What God wants is a relationship with us.

What does that look like? It looks like communicating with him in prayer. It looks like spending time in the Bible and listening for his voice. It looks like lingering in his presence. It also looks like doing (obedience). Obedience to what he is telling you to do. And, it looks like surrender. Letting go of our stuff to have more of his stuff.

This weekend, I started looking at this text in a slightly different way. I imagined coming up to Jesus and having him point at me and say in a really loud voice “I KNOW YOU!” I imagined running to him and jumping into his arms and sobbing with joy at the sound of those three words.

Can you imagine it? There would be nothing better. Ever.