When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 
Luke 19:5-10

---

“LOVE” was tattooed across the salesperson’s right hand fingers, while “HATE” mirrored on his left. He said, “I will get a radio for your new car—a few days’ wait.” Late-night driving without one meant struggling to stay awake. So, I jerry-rigged an old battery-operated Panasonic portable radio onto the passenger seat. I would make do.

Making do is what Zacchaeus, a tax collector, does to catch a glimpse of Jesus walking by. He is too short to see over the crowd, so he climbs a tree as found in Luke 19:5-10. I also had to make do and hold the radio pull-out antenna while driving to catch a signal. And like the tax-collector, I had no clue that my life was about to change forever.

Night-time driving was unnerving to me—blaring rock music with wide-open windows was necessary to keep me fully awake. During the first two nights of driving, only one station would come in—a radio drama called “Unshackled.” My neck tightened. It was one of those Christian programs.  

I hated everything about church. I was almost an atheist. My faith journey had been like the salesman’s tattoos. I felt love while growing up in church, but it eroded into hate after I left. Disillusioned while in seminary, I abandoned my dream to become a priest.

The story featured on “Unshackled” was of a pastor who befriended an atheist. I resonated. Both grew to accept one another. One day, the pastor invited him to church—like Jesus had invited Zacchaeus to come down from the tree and visit with him. The drama’s pastor used the phrase, “If you can stand it.” These words gnawed at me. I was still on the HATE side of the tattoo.

It seemed like the drama was written for me. I asked myself, “How is it that my portable radio would only tune into one station? How is it that I heard only ‘Unshackled?’ How is it that the main character was an atheist who could not stand to be in a church?” I felt nudged from a deep sleep. I felt spiritually free, “There must be a God.”

In today’s Scripture, Zacchaeus, a tax collector, wants to see Jesus so desperately that he climbs up a tree in order to see him. Jesus calls him down, and Zaccheaus is overwhelmed. That’s how I felt when I heard, “If you can stand it.” Like Zacchaeus’ change, my attitude changed. I thought, “There must be a God.” And if so, I wanted to bond with Him. Later, I understood that the way to that is through accepting the atoning grace of Jesus Christ.

Next Steps

Consider journaling daily and recording unexpected events that you notice. Look for unexplainable patterns in them. Perhaps because of these, you will be like Zacchaeus, making amends with God and others.