Zacchaeus is NOT my favorite character in scripture. The guy is a stumpy conman, wheedling his way through life. Corrupt. Unlikable. Nasty.
Too bad he's my grandfather.
And he might be yours too.
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For most of my life, I've been inspired by the story of the boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus takes his meager offering and feeds 5000 people. Inspiring story! And it's all about me: I have little to offer, but Jesus takes my pathetic offering and multiplies it. Yay!
But tonight I was forced to rethink my identification with that boy.
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I swing on my hammock.
She perches on our wooden-crates-for-seats. Fidgets. Bounces. Twirls her hair. Chats and giggles.
At 9 years old, she is the same age as my daughter.
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Because of where we live, and how we invest our lives, my kids ask me some really curly questions. They drop some real shockers! - leaving me awkwardly grasping for an explanation that will be age appropriate.
For example, the other day, a guy we know was sharing about his work investigating sex trafficking here in Cambodia...
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The other day, my regular coconut-seller lady thrust a dollar into my hand as I was getting ready to pay her. With a smile she told me I had overpaid last time. Knowing she is poor, and every dollar counts, I was touched by her honesty, goodness and self-control.
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I looked around the room and, quoting from Luke 4, shared how Jesus, filled with the Spirit came out of the desert to announce the beginning of his ministry. His mission statement. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news....to who?"
I was teaching last week at a cell group of affluent young Christians in their 20's and 30's.They looked at each other. One reached for his Bible to look it up. Another searched his phone.
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These words of Thomas Merton offer another perspective on loving our enemy.
"Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is an enemy of God just because he is your enemy.
Perhaps he is your enemy precisely because he can find nothing in you that gives glory to God."
How we understand poverty determines how we engage with the poor.
My friend Sam is too young and unstable to have a kid. Now she's pregnant. She is with a guy who drinks and gambles when he gets money. She dropped out of high school, and her job prospects are not rosy.
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This morning a riot broke out near my house as striking factory workers clashed with riot police. One woman was shot and died. Others were brutally beaten. Workers from SL factory, which makes Levis, H&M and GAP clothing, have been on strike since early August .
Followers of Christ sometimes question whether working for justice in situations like this is central to the gospel....
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A lot of folks question our decision to raise our kids in the slums and inner cities of the world. But from time to time I am reminded of how God has blessed us with two insightful, healthy, confident kids.
My 8 year daughter Micah came home from school not long ago and told me that her teacher had asked the class, "Which would you choose, fame or money?"
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