Perspective

Roy's Reflections
by Roy Boswell

“I’m not small,” the little man would say to himself. “I’ll show them.” And over the years he had found lots of ways to prove it, at least to himself. He had discovered, for example, that money helped. A rich man always had friends around, even if he was short. Of course, some people didn’t approve of the way Zacchaeus raked in his money. The tiny entrepreneur was a small but increasingly important cog in a great revenue machine that channeled money from the far-flung provinces of the empire into the coffers of Rome. He had started as a common tax collector. He had been given a certain area from which he was obligated to bring in a specific amount of tax money each year. And he had worked hard for his money. Farmers and fishermen didn’t part with their money easily.

The little man would have to prod and plead, threaten and scheme. He would declare an outrageous value on some personal property only to bring it down a bit when he saw enough fear and anger in the client’s eyes. Yes, he had worked hard. But the beauty of the system was that whatever money he could bring in over his allotted quota was his to keep. And money helped this small man live somewhat larger than life. Power helped, too. The threat of Roman soldiers breaking in and confiscating a merchant’s entire stock had won many an argument. And a few years ago he had been promoted. As chief tax collector for the district, he had several collectors working under him now. They would skim the money from their clients, he would skim the profits from his subordinates, and the rest— always right at the precise quota amount—would find its way up the chain to the Roman governor, and from him to Rome itself. Power elevated the little man.

Of course, power had its price. “Dirty Roman Traitor,” people would whisper as he scurried through the narrow streets of Jericho. Rotten vegetables would splatter his robe as he turned into a doorway. Long ago the synagogue had formally excommunicated him. No self-respecting person would enter his door. But money and power did buy wonderful parties. His guests would be some of the other “sinners” in the area, of course, but “You’re a force to be reckoned with,” he would tell himself. “You’re a big man about town.” For such a big man about town, it was strange the excitement that possessed Zacchaeus when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was headed into Jericho that summer afternoon. It didn’t seem to matter that he had figures to check and money to count. He must catch a glimpse of this itinerant preacher who had caused such a stir around Palestine. People raced past him to the edge of town to welcome the Master, but Zacchaeus took this opportunity to climb unnoticed into a large, spreading sycamore-fig tree that shaded the main street. He could see Jesus at the end of the street, now that he pulled himself high onto a branch, mobbed by hundreds of townspeople.

When the throng had nearly reached Zacchaeus’ vantage spot, the Master stopped dead in his tracks. Zacchaeus chuckled as distracted followers ran into each other behind Jesus, until the whole crowd stood still. Maybe I’ll get to hear him teach, thought the little man. Then Jesus’ head turned upward until his eyes met Zacchaeus’ eyes. And the eyes of each person in the crowd looked up, too. Jesus smiled a peculiar, won’t-this-be-fun smile, and spoke quietly above the hush of the crowd.

“Zacchaeus,” he began. How does he know my name? thought Zacchaeus, turning red all over. How does he know me? “Zacchaeus,” the Master continued, “come down right away. I must stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus almost fell out of the tree. His house? Of course! Jesus would be impressed with his house. But then the little man’s stomach knotted up within him. Jesus was a holy man. He was a sinner. How could Jesus come to his house. Didn’t he know?

Jesus did know. He could hear people in the crowd mumbling, “He’s going to the house of a sinner,” but Jesus just smiled again, and motioned him down. He does want to talk to me. He knows my name. It doesn’t matter what people say, Jesus cares about me. By the time Zacchaeus reached the ground, tears of joy had begun to flow down his cheeks. The crowd had parted a bit, and he darted to where Jesus stood, falling on his knees at Jesus’ feet. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder after a moment, and an arm helping him up. He thought he could see the trace of a tear in Jesus’ eyes, too.

He stood up. “Lord,” he began, “here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor.” It just poured out of Zacchaeus. People gasped in disbelief. Skinflint Zacchaeus? But Zacchaeus wasn’t finished. “And if I’ve cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

“He means it!” muttered one man who was close enough to see it all. “He’ll do it!” The crowd began murmuring as the news of Zacchaeus’ words was passed person to person from the center out to the edge of the crowd. Few people were able to hear Jesus’ words as he hugged the little man.

“Today salvation has come to this house,” he said joyfully, “because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” At those words, Zacchaeus pulled himself up to full height and beamed. A son of Abraham! The Master himself had said it. I am a son of Abraham! Jesus looked around to the bewildered crowd and spoke with such conviction and force that it seemed as if he were trying to condense his entire life’s purpose in a single sentence: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

“I swear,” said one of the disciples, watching Zacchaeus half-walk, half-dance beside Jesus as they made their way to the tax collector’s home. “I swear, he doesn’t look so little after all.” He scratched his beard. “He looks taller somehow.”

And to tell the truth, Zacchaeus felt ten feet tall.

We live in a culture that celebrates differences – at least on the surface. Educators are trying hard to teach people to get along. Multiculturalism and other postmodern approaches to creating community are trying hard to create a culture that allows each human being (well, as long as they are physically born first) to meet their full potential, exploring their hopes and dreams to the farthest possible expression. Our world sees the terrors around and wants to make it better, for everyone.

We agree with these basic desires. We would call it hope for the Kingdom. The world is trying to bring about the Kingdom with education, economic stimulus and aide, health care, and the spread of democratic reform. These are some of the best tools humanity has created – but they will not be enough. They are missing the key ingredient, the Messiah.

Like all seemingly good ideas of man, we ignore the basic problem of sin and its effects. Sin impacts behavior psychologically and sociologically. Sin also impacts us and our environment physically, literally changing the course of nature. Sin impacts us on every level, even politically. Communism did not fall simply due to our outspending it, or the increase in personal communication. It fell due to its ignoring the basic selfishness within all of us. Capitalism has excelled because it works from a drive for self. This is also what will cause us to bury ourselves in our own toxic waste from all we make that we do not need as we heedlessly drive the ever consuming capitalist engine.

Our world, in its quest to deal with the huge problems and differences between us all, has tried to put a good face on it. For example, America is no longer the melting pot, but a soup pot – each different ingredient adding its own flavor and texture to the overall effect.

The church needs to be different. We need to stand for Christ and that does not mean we will fit in. No, we will not fit in at all. Our flavor should not fit in with the rest of the mix in the world. If we do not sound dissonant in the orchestra around us, we are not playing our destiny as a Christian according to our conductor’s wishes.

Within the church are many members, each with a different role. As a local body, we should fit together, making a diverse mix which is pleasing to the LORD. The world, except those being called, will not - can not - appreciate it at all. Sometimes it seems that certain members within our church are too strong a flavor or not playing the right notes. That may be so. It may also be that we have not done the LORD’s work and found those lost sheep that would balance our flavor exactly or add their chords to create a beautiful sound.

Even within Christianity at large there are differences. We should not try to candy coat them. We live in a fallen world and mistakes will be made by everyone. Various groups have certain gifts they have worked very hard at, while letting obvious (to those outside the group) faults go unchallenged and unchanged. For example, the Catholic church is probably the greatest overall organization at helping others and serving others based on Christ’s command that “what you do unto the least of these my brethren you do unto me.” However, their doctrine of the mass crucifies Christ afresh every day.

What has been our strong suit as Bible Students? It would have to be an understanding of Christ’s ransom for all as the basis for understanding the plans and purposes of his Kingdom. This belief makes us different. It impacts our faith in who we believe Christ is, the destiny of humanity, the role of Christians today and in the future, and our belief in the nature of God. These beliefs make us different within Christianity and in the world. We need to embrace this and obediently move forward from that position.

Unfortunately our weakness has been in sharing this vision of God and his plan with others. Over a hundred years ago, we strongly moved forward in these understandings, changing the lives of thousands upon thousands, but since then we have lost our vision, fighting amongst ourselves – or worse, not even talking to each other anymore.

Many of our young have not been able to see the beauty, or importance, of what we know and have left us in many cases. What is sad is that many today do not see it as an issue that those who once met with us now meet with others that hold doctrinal positions that actually smear the name of God (i.e. God will torment all those not saved eternally, etc.). To some, taking a doctrinal stand seems unseemly. That is just what the world and Satan would want - not our Lord.

When God gets a hold on us, we should be different. We should never be able to fit in to any of our old ways again. We should not be comfortable in places except where he specifically places us. We should be Different – eternally. When someone leaves our fellowship they should not be able to blend in to any church, they should be different. This should be true of any church if we really believe that what we believe matters. It should impact our decisions. We should not be comfortable taking any job or moving anywhere to suit our own wants and needs. We should consider: where is there a fellowship that will help me grow as a Christian and where I can practice my faith according to what I believe Scripture teaches?

Perhaps you don’t fit in – if it is because of sin, then that must be repented of and dealt with now. If it is because God has fitted you differently, then cooperate with Him. Don’t settle for what is – work for what can be. Perhaps it is time to plant a new church? Perhaps it is time to draw together others of “like precious faith” and form a new community of saints. Perhaps it is time to be an agent of change for an existing group of believers. All these things need to be prayerfully considered and then acted upon.

The world is celebrating differences, trying to acclimate everyone to the drastic societal changes in a positive way. We should do the same, but God’s way. We will not fit in to the way the world is trying to do it, but we will create spaces and places for those being called to the High Calling. These differences God can use to shape and mold us into his Son’s image. These are eternal purposes worth celebrating.

A Daughter's Heart