Jesus Befriends A Tax-Gatherer
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there, known by the name of Zacchaeus, who was a commissioner of taxes and a rich man. He tried to see what Jesus was like; but, being short, he was unable to do so because of the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a mulberry tree, to see Jesus, for he knew that he must pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him:
“Zacchaeus, be quick and come down, for I must stop at your house to-day.”
So Zacchaeus got down quickly, and joyfully welcomed him. On seeing this, every one began to complain:
“He has gone to stay with a man who is an outcast.”
But Zacchseus stood forward and said to the Master:
“Listen, Master! I will give half my property to the poor, and, if I have defrauded any one of anything, I will give him back four times as much.”
“Salvation has come to this house to-day,” answered Jesus, “for even this man is a son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to ‘search for those who are lost’ and to save them.”
—Luke.
Home is the test of love; all but pure gold is counted as counterfeit.
The Meaning Of The Home
Witness the meaning of the home. From its earliest prophetic beginnings, the marriage is begun in faith, in confidence, in unselfishness, in devotion. The vocabulary of human beauty is exhausted in its holy service with its words, love, comfort, honor, serve, keep in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. Into it is gathered up the myrrh and frankincense of life and laid upon the altar of God.
—C. S. Macfarland.