Lately, I’ve been thinking about a short man, an invitation, an open door, and rejection.
That’s a lot, so let’s take them one at a time, and probably in order.
The short man is Zacchaeus, and if you’ve ever been to Sunday School, you were introduced to him as a wee little man. No, he wasn’t from Scotland. Yes, he really was short. He was also a thief, but not the kind that wears dark clothes and sneaks into your house while you’re asleep. He was more like the IRS agent who charges you excessive taxes and then keeps the excessive part for himself.
Obviously, he didn’t have many, if any, friends.
The invitation was the kind that we don’t experience a lot of today. It’s rude to invite yourself to someone else’s house, but in the story found in Luke 19, that’s exactly what happened. The short man became a tree climber so he could see over a crowd, and the person he was trying to see stopped and invited himself over.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” (Luke 19:5 NLT, emphasis mine)
Most of the messages that I have heard – and preached – about this story center around the change that took place in Zacchaeus’ heart once Jesus came over. I say heart and not life because he volunteered to give back more money than he’d stolen. Anyone who’s ever asked people for an offering knows the truth of the words Jesus spoke about treasures and our hearts. Trust me, this thief’s heart was changed.
We could also spend some time speculating about what happened once Jesus went to his house, but we aren’t told the specifics. So, can we simply focus on the one thing that we know happened? The one thing that literally opened the door to everything else?
Jesus went in.
That simple truth brings me to the painful fourth item in our list: rejection.
All of us have felt it, although the levels and intensities are probably very different. Working up the courage to ask her out and hearing her say no creates it. Being fired from your job, or having a relationship fall apart, can, too. Rejection stings, and the more vulnerable the situation is around it, the deeper the sting goes.
I remember one very painful time in my life when I opened the door to some people close to me and invited them in. It took all the courage I could muster, and even as the door swung on its hinges, I could feel my soul holding its breath, whispering a prayer that they would enter my world, and my pain.
They didn’t.
My point isn’t to play the victim card, or to make people feel bad for walking away from the open door.
My point is to highlight the One who will never walk away from an invitation to draw closer to you and me. His didn’t just want to be close to a short man at a parade. He wants to enter the open door of our lives, too.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” (Revelation 3:20 NLT, emphasis mine)
Don’t miss those four simple, powerful words. Four syllables that hold a promise for all of us who have felt the sting of rejection from others who walked away from an open door and an invitation.
I. Will. Come. In.
Jesus is the one who always enters, always sits, always stays. Don’t hide the most painful parts of your heart from Him. Open the door, and invite Him in.
There is a meal that He wants to share with you, and just like for that short man, His friendship will change everything.
