Bird's eye view

For the full context of this post read Luke 19:1-10

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way (Luke 19:1-4).

Zacchaeus made his claim to fame in the Bible simply because he was short, but perhaps this passage does more than assure us that Jesus loves short people. Zacchaeus serves as an example to us of someone who was excited to see and hear from Jesus. Zacchaeus needed a bird’s eye view, or a higher vantage point, in order to see Jesus. He was willing to climb a tree, be made fun of, and do whatever it took to make sure that he didn’t miss hearing from Jesus. What are we willing to do to make sure that we don’t miss an opportunity to hear from God?

As an United States citizen, I have spent most of my life taking church for granted. Americans have the freedom to profess faith, gather in groups, and go to church. Doing the church gig is easy for us. This is not the case for some of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Current shelter-in-place orders have shut down churches nationwide. What will we do to make sure that we still hear from Jesus? What’s our bird’s eye view?

Churches across the nation are creating podcasts, you tube videos and even live streams for church. The Good News of Jesus Christ has potential to be heard by far more people now than it did when we were meeting within the four walls of our Sunday morning buildings. But are we listening? Are we staying connected? Have we continued to pursue Christ by making it a priority to listen to Biblical teaching online and virtually connect with other believers. Or, have we put church on hold until we can view it from within a building sitting on a pew?

I am excited about the opportunities that the shelter-in-place has created for churches and believers. This blog is an example of staying committed to hear from God even while churches are closed. What else can we do to spread the Gospel? What trees do you need to climb so that you can continue to see Jesus during this time? Take a bird’s eye view and let your faith soar!