Daily Inspiration

“At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy.  When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” -Luke 19:1-10
 
Zacchaeus, like me, is short in stature and not just in the physical sense. Spiritually, we also fall short and struggle to see Jesus in our midst. Jesus knew Zacchaeus his whole short life and, like me, knew what he needed most.
 
God placed that sycamore there so Zacchaeus could climb it and meet Christ. God does the same for each soul stunted in spiritual growth. He places the New Tree of Life, which is the Cross, into every life where we need it the most.
 
If you want to meet Jesus and have Him come to stay with you, you must willingly and excitedly embrace your cross and climb up on it. For you will see that your cross is where Jesus awaits you.
 
Saint Barlaam of Antioch, pray for us.
 
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Jesus, I trust in you.