By F. D. Adkins
He knocks, but the door has to open from the inside.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 KJV
We are told in Luke, chapter nineteen, that Zaccheus, a wealthy tax collector, climbs up in a sycamore tree because he is too short to see Jesus over the crowd of people. Why is Zaccheus so eager to see Jesus? Perhaps he has been searching for meaning in life as Solomon did and found that money is not filling that void in his heart. Obviously, whatever thoughts are running through Zaccheus’ mind at this point has him determined enough to climb a tree so he can catch a glimpse of this man, Jesus, whom he has heard about.
In this crowd of people, Jesus approaches the tree and speaks to the man hovering in the branches. Jesus tells the man to come down because he wants to come to his house. “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house” (Luke 19:5 KJV). Here, I note that Jesus says, “make haste”, which tells me this is not a leisurely statement but rather indicates urgency.
How does Zaccheus react? Luke 19:6 details that Zaccheus “…made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully” (KJV). Zaccheus comes down quickly and receives Jesus “joyfully” (Luke 19:6 KJV).
The Bible tells us to “… be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”(Matthew 24:44 KJV). We learn in Revelation 3:20 that Jesus knocks at the door, but we must let Him in. In the same way, Jesus made the urgency clear to Zaccheus, but Zaccheus had to let Jesus into his home. And he did “joyfully” (Luke 19:6 KJV).
Friends, God’s Word says to be ready. It is urgent. Let us make sure we have received Him “joyfully”.
Make haste?? If the Lord called on you to make haste to do something, would you lolly gag around or would you rush to Him? My Mama use to ask me to do things and she would say don’t let any grass grow under your feet. Meaning “Get up, Get moving, and Don’t waste any time doing what she said and she meant it too. Children today could use a lesson in that… You know, when the Lord wants to come into your home and dine with you, wouldn’t that be a honor? The thought of that just WOW’s me!! Thank you Farrah for constantly reminding us of scriptures that we need to hear!!