Hurry-Come Down!!

When I was a young girl my cousins and I liked to climb trees in the backyard. We would love to see who could get to the top and shake the treetop first. Many times my Aunt would come out and tell us to get down from those trees. She said we were up too high and because of that it was dangerous. We would agree and start coming down a few branches and then she would go in. As soon as we saw her go in we would race up to the again. Looking back now it was dangerous and she was right we needed to get down when she asked us to.

There’s a story about a man named Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 who also climbed a tree. However his story is much different than that of mine. His story goes as follows:

“And He entered and was passing through Jericho and behold there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus: and he was a chief tax- gatherer, and he was rich. And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for today I must stay at your house.”

And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Here is a man who for as much as we know had everything (according to the world’s standards) and yet he was still missing something- Jesus. He was very wealthy and yet he was curious about Jesus and took extreme measures to see him. Jesus comes looks up at him and tells him to hurry and come down so He could go to his house. Imagine what Zacchaeus was thinking. His immediate reaction was one of total obedience. He got completely out of that tree and received Jesus. He knew this was a moment he wasn’t going to miss and he embraced Him with all that he was.

So many times, in our lives we also are in the “tree” so to speak. Except for us when Jesus is calling our name we don’t come down completely. We might come down a few branches and then we are back up again just “observing.”

Perhaps we’re afraid to come completely down because of what we think it will cost us. Look though at Zacchaeus- he wasn’t under any judgment or condemnation from Jesus, but was a changed man just from being in the presence of Jesus. He said of his own free will that if he had cheated anyone out of anything in the past due to his job that he would pay it back four times more. This man and his character was changed Jesus didn’t make him say that.

John 3:16-18 tells us this “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Jesus came in to this world to seek and to save what was lost not to judge or bring condemnation. Each person needs to ask himself or herself this one question “If I died tonight where would I spend eternity?” If that is a question that you do not have an answer for then you have a choice to make. The choice is will you accept Jesus into your heart and life and let Him be the center of your life? If you want to make that choice then pray this prayer “Father I believe you sent your son Jesus Christ and had Him die on the cross for me. That through the shedding of His blood I have forgiveness of all my sins. I believe that He rose on the third day so I could have eternal life. I ask you now to forgive me and to cleanse me of all my sins because I’m a sinner and I need you. Come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. Thank you for your free gift of salvation and thank you for loving me – in Jesus name I pray amen.”

Perhaps you have gotten out of the tree before and yet you find yourself climbing back up those branches and you want to come down again – fully. Re-commit your life to Christ and start walking closely with Him again. He hasn’t forgotten you and you haven’t done anything that could make Him not love you – His love for us never changes.

Christ is there calling each person’s name to get out of the tree that they are in so that He can be a guest in their “house”. The question is do you want to be high in a tree just seeing and observing Jesus or do you want to get completely down and have Him in your “house” forever? He desperately loves you and wants to be with you forever

"Won’t You Hurry And Come Down?”