里外更新
撒该的故事漂亮地抓住了福音的信息和神恩典的转化大能。撒该可不是一个受欢迎的人。作为税吏长，他的工作是为罗马政府收税。这个职业因腐败而臭名昭著。他因为这份工作不仅获得了巨大财富，也可能很孤独——他自己的百姓一般都将他拒之门外。
撒该不仅身材矮小，他的人品也被人鄙视。但他想要看耶稣，于是就爬到树上越过人群去看。当耶稣走近时，祂看中了撒该，并要去他家里做客。当然，这会让当地的人感到不舒服，但耶稣在撒该身上看到了只有神才能看到的东西。祂看到了他可能成为什么样的人。而撒该的转变是戏剧性的。他获得救恩不是因为他归还了他的大量财富，而是因为他接受了耶稣的恩典和怜悯——这也改变了他的生活方式。他的转变是公开的，是个人的，也是非常重要的。
从罪人，到寻求者，再到跟随者，撒该成了我们的生命因基督而转变的榜样。是的，同样的事情也在我们的生命中发生了，因为心的改变会带来品格和行动的改变。
耶稣，感谢祢转化生命的恩典和怜悯。求祢从里到外更新我们，好使我们的言语和行动都彰显祢在我们生命中进行着的工作。阿们。
路加福音 19:1-10
1 耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，
2 有一个人名叫撒该，做税吏长，是个财主，
3 他要看看耶稣是怎样的人。只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见。
4 就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。
5 耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：“撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。”
6 他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜地接待耶稣。
7 众人看见，都私下议论说：“他竟到罪人家里去住宿！”
8 撒该站着对主说：“主啊，我把所有的一半给穷人，我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。”
9 耶稣说：“今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。
10 人子来，为要寻找、拯救失丧的人。”
Transformation From The Inside Out
“Today salvation has come to this house. . . . For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:9-10
The story of Zacchaeus beautifully captures the message of the gospel and the transforming power of God’s grace. Zacchaeus wasn’t a popular person at all. As a chief tax collector, his job was to gather taxes for the Roman government. This profession was notorious for corruption. Not only was he a man of great wealth based on the job he had, but he may well have been lonely—generally rejected by his own people.
Zacchaeus was small in stature as well as being small in character. But he wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed a tree to see over the crowd. As Jesus approached, he picked out Zacchaeus and invited himself to the man’s home. Certainly this would have upset the townspeople, but Jesus saw something in Zacchaeus that only God can see in a person. He saw the man he could be. And Zacchaeus’s transformation was dramatic. His salvation came not because he returned a large part of his riches, but because he received the grace and mercy of Jesus—and it changed the way he lived. His transformation was public and personal and urgently important.
From sinner to seeker to follower, Zacchaeus became an example of the change that takes place in our lives because of Christ. Yes, the same happens in our lives too, because a change of heart leads to a change of character and behavior.
Thank you, Jesus, for your transforming grace and mercy. Change us from the inside out so that our words and actions rightly reflect your ongoing work in our lives. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
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