Hi, and thanks for joining us for another daily reading from the Our Daily Bread Devotional.

It was written by Po Fong Chia, and it's titled An Unexpected Guest.

Zach was a lonely guy.

When he walked down the city streets, he could feel the hostile glares.

But then, his life took a turn.

Clement of Alexandria, one of the church fathers, says that Zach became a very prominent

Christian leader and a pastor of the church in Cessaria.

Yes, we're talking about Zakiaus, the chief tax collector who climbed

a sycamore tree to see Jesus in Luke chapter 19. What prompted him to climb the tree?

Tax collectors were perceived as traitors because they heavily taxed their own people to serve the

Roman Empire. Yet Jesus had a reputation for

accepting them. Zakias might have wondered if Jesus would accept him too. Being short in stature,

however, he couldn't see over the crowd. Perhaps he climbed a tree to seek him out. And Jesus was

seeking Zekias too. When Christ reached the tree where

he was perched, he looked up and said, Zechius, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.

Jesus considered it absolutely necessary that he be a guest in this outcast's home.

Imagine that.

The savior of the world wanting to spend time with a social reject.

Whether it's our hearts, relationships, or lives that need mending, like Zechias, we can have hope.

Jesus will never reject us when we turn to him.

He can restore what's been lost and broken

and give our lives new meaning and purpose.

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