Making my way through the Gospel of Luke this week, and reflecting on other passages in other gospels, I find something interesting. In Luke 19 Zacchaeus is a tax collector wanting to see Jesus. He pays to get the skybox view (which are the better seats at a baseball field, I’m told) and looks for Jesus. As Jesus passes by, he sees Zacchaeus and invites him down. (This would show the wealth of the man, since he was the only one in the skybox.)

Okay, it was a tree… and it was free…

But Jesus goes to Zacchaeus’ house for a meal. Zacchaeus, of course, throws a party. All his “esteemed” friends were there.

We do not have any record of Jesus saying anything directly to Zacchaeus about his wealth or how he got it. In the middle of the meal, Zacchaeus blurts out, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times that amount.”

It turns out Zacchaeus was drunk and then reneged on his deal. (Just kidding.)

Think about this. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus asking what to do to inherit eternal life and in the process Jesus presses him hard. “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.”

That man went away NOT doing what Jesus said.

Here, there is no record of Jesus saying anything and Zacchaeus volunteers change.

What I am convinced of in the life of the believer is this: Jesus IS beautiful. And when we are overwhelmed by HIS beauty… change happens. We want HIM, not our petty little idols. We find out our aspirations just don’t match up and almost without prodding, the beauty of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit does the work. It doesn’t mean things aren’t said… but I do find stories in the gospel like this really fascinating.