Zacchaeus: Hunger after God

I’d have been around 15 years old when I was with our youth camp at a YFC weekend in Belgrave Heights.  I don’t know who the speaker was, and I have no idea the topic, but when the altar call was given, I flew out of my seat and almost ran.  I’d been sitting near the back of the room, and I was one of the first to the front.

God had been working in me, and I wanted to respond, I needed to respond – so I ran, and fortunately it was in the right direction.

I wonder if that’s something like how Zacchaeus felt.  What was it that drove him to climb a tree?  Was it because he was so short?  Or maybe it was because it was harder for people to spit on him, because that is what they would do to a tax-collector in public.

Whatever motivated him then, it was the response when Jesus came to his home that is most remarkable.  It is almost reckless – certainly not what you’d expect from a man like him. A man in the profession for the money, not the friends.

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

Maybe, like I was at 15, Zacchaeus was hungry!  Hungry for God and for more of Him in His life.  And it brought a response, it compelled a response.  And that response enabled the Lord to do His wonderful work.

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:8 – 10)

At 15, I’d already believed and been baptized, that was two years earlier, and a special time in my life.  But I’m equally certain that the moment in that hall was pivotal to the work God was doing in my life, and one of the steps along the road He’d lead me in serving Him, and maybe more importantly, in discovering so much more of who He is.

It has me thinking, what do we do to cultivate and feed this kind of hunger all throughout our life of faith, walking in The Spirit.  Let me make a couple of suggestions.

Firstly, we must continually feed ourselves on God, His Word and His presence.  It is quality time that I’m really speaking of.  Not fitting in little bits and pieces whenever we can, and believe me, I’m well acquainted with that kind of devotional life.  It might not be a long time, but it is a time when God gets all of me that will allow Him to speak, or more importantly, for me to hear Him speak.

Secondly, feeding that hunger comes from placing ourselves where God is at work.  Hopefully we find Him at work in our times of gathered worship, prayer meetings and Bible Studies.  But my experience has been that there is something else as well, just as important or maybe more so, it is being on mission.

Look at the disciples and how they returned from pairing up and going into the villages:

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:17)

Being engaged in mission is an almost certain way to cultivate a hunger for God, growing in Him, and desiring more of Him in our lives.  Mission is experienced locally, and also in far places.  Both are important and possible.  Stay informed about what God is doing anywhere that faithful followers are on mission.  Support people, write to them, and pray for them constantly. And whenever you can, take the opportunity to go.  I don’t know anything that feeds our hunger for the things of God, more than seeing God at work and changing people’s lives.  And witnessing and being a part of that – I’d run in that direction every time!