Lunch with Jesus by Phil

The only way we've been able to successfully minister the last 28 years is because of the support of some very faithful and generous people. We can't begin to express our gratitude to you for helping us fulfill God's call on our lives so long ago. It would be wonderful if generosity was a recognized trait of all Christians, but unfortunately, that is not the case. I've known friends in the food service industry who dreaded working on Sundays because the "church crowd" were the worst tippers. Ouch!

I remember once before a concert I overheard someone say "Oh no, I don't have any dollar bills for the offering." I replied, “I’m sure they accept larger bills, too." I don't think they recognized I was the one singing, when they responded with a chuckle, "Well sure, I bet they would! Haha." As my southern friends would say, "Bless their hearts."

This reminds me of the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. You probably remember the "wee little man" who climbed a tree to see Jesus, then Jesus shocks the crowd by going to his house for lunch. There is so much more to this encounter than the simple children's song portrays.

Luke 19:2 tells us Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. People in these positions were seen as traitors because they collected taxes from their own Jewish people to give to the enemy - Rome (boo, hiss!). Since they were already hated, tax collectors had a reputation of padding the payment and pocketing the rest. That's why many times in scripture you see phrases like "sinners and tax collectors." In other words, they would have probably made the top of Santa's "Naughty" list.

We don't know what Jesus and Zacchaeus ate for lunch that day, or what they talked about, but we can certainly see the result. In verse 8 we read, "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor..." In that day (and still today) if someone donated 20% of their wealth, that would be exceptionally generous. Zacchaeus more than doubled that amount! But wait, there's more!! The verse goes on to say, "and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" The principle of restitution for this situation is spelled out in Leviticus 6:5, "He must restore it in full and add one-fifth..." After his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus went far beyond what was required. He responded with true generosity and many people were blessed.

We are required to be good stewards of our resources, but in reality, everything belongs to God. He just allows us to use it. Being a good steward means managing our (God's) resources in the way He would want, not the way we want. If you need proof that God is generous, you need look no further than the cross. God doesn't stop with the bare minimum required, He goes "exceedingly, abundantly above" and beyond!

I don't see how anyone could have a personal encounter with Jesus and not be changed. When we realize God's amazing, unmerited love for us and the price He paid for our very souls, why wouldn't our response be love and generosity toward His other children? How could we do any less?

Maybe the real question is, have you had lunch with Jesus?

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Thankful and abundantly blessed,
Phil and Pam

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