Donna Naborsyour Spiritual jewelry box.

 

Seeking a Better View

I am short in stature. I’m over 5 feet tall, barely. I climb the shelves at the grocery store to reach items on the top shelf. I’ve had people look at me like I’m crazy, so sometimes I ask for their help. I’ve yet to be told no. I take twice as many steps as my husband when we go for a walk, and I pull my seat up all the way in the car when I drive. I’m short.

Luke 19 tells about a man named Zacchaeus who was also short in stature. He was seeking to see Jesus in the crowd, but he was too short, so he climbed a tree to see better. Kind of like climbing those shelves at the grocery store, but the tree was probably more stable.

Scripture says he sought to see Jesus. He wasn’t willing to just let Him pass by. He was determined to see Him and who He was. I think being short comes with a stubborn streak. Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree, but I believe Jesus would have seen him anyway. He told Zacchaeus to come down. He met him where he was.

Some of us may not be short of stature physically, but we all go through times when we are short spiritually. We must seek Him, and He will meet us where we are.

The question isn’t am I willing to climb a tree or the shelves at the grocery store. It’s not what I can do to reach up and be closer to heaven. None of us can reach up high enough to heaven. That’s why Jesus reaches down to us.

He sees us where we are. He lifts us up when we are stuck in our sins or stuck in confusion or stuck in disappointment. He sees us when we are paralyzed in fear and when we feel alone. We climb the trees (or shelves in my case) to get a better view, but He says come down.

Zacchaeus sought Him. Am I seeking Him?

The physical climbs are not what He wants. The spiritual seeking of our heart is what He wants. It is there He meets us, extends His hand, and gathers us to His side.

“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart – These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17).