GRACE WINSنموونە

Grace makes people curious. Grace tends to be foreign to humanity. We understand the concept of forgiveness and acceptance, but the experience of it from fellow humans can be very rare. We may find tolerance, but it is impossible to find grace at the quality and quantity that Jesus can give. 

This is what may have caused Zacchaeus to run and climb a tree. Yes, he climbed because he was said to be smaller than your average man—but why was he climbing to get a look at Jesus? Perhaps the constant rejection that Zacchaeus faced, combined with the news of the constant acceptance that Jesus was showing across the region, created interest in his mind. 

"So he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree so he could get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by." Luke 19:4 (TPT)

Zacchaeus runs ahead of the crowd, and his desperate scramble shows the sprint inside of his heart not to be alone. The crowd had rejected Zacchaeus, but maybe the One for whom the crowd gathered wouldn’t turn him away. Like the blossoming of the buds on the tree Zacchaeus was climbing, his heart had a blossoming hope that his isolated and lonely winter was finished.

We may feel rejected, alone, or unaccepted, but there is One who loves with an aggressive grace. Jesus is not fickle like the crowd, nor is His grace based on our performance. This grace always comes with an invitation. Grace does not forgive from a distance, but it is grace that brings people together. Jesus dines with Zacchaeus, and Jesus desires to dine with you. No matter your past or what you have done, Jesus accepts you. He sees you running ahead of the crowd to get a glimpse of this peculiar grace. He sees your effort to find forgiveness. He sees you climbing. He sees you. He calls you by name. You matter to Jesus. 

Let His grace into your heart today. May you feast together with Jesus and never know loneliness again. This is how grace wins.

- Josh Kelsey

As you continue this devotional, please follow along in the Passion Translation for daily scriptures.