THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE

Over the next few days I will share a number of points from a message I shared at our recent 'Kings in Christ' Men's Camp.

Consider the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19

You may remember that Zacchaeus was a short man. Zacchaeus was also a traitor to his people, a tax-collector who served Rome. He was a heartless thief. But we can imagine Zacchaeus' life before he grew into this kind of man.

It's true of many people who are belittled, rejected, or laughed at (not just for being of small stature) that they fight back to win respect even if for negative reasons. I think that was Zacchaeus' longing in life. He didn't want to be put down, to be a nobody. He was going to make all the people who belittled him sorry.

And so when Zacchaeus became an adult, he was smart, ruthless, rich, and lost. He climbed a tree to see Jesus because the crowd who hated him would never let him near the inner ring around Jesus.

But everything changed when Jesus stopped and addressed the tax collector: "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Then he finally turned to the crowd when they objected and said, "...This man, too, is a son of Abraham."

Jesus gave Zacchaeus the significance and standing that he longed for.

Genesis 1 tells us that God - who made the vast universe, the stars of the heavens, life, and light, who separated land from water, who brought about everything - found human beings his fascination.

We are the ones in whom the image of God resides, who are given dominion over the earth.

The reason we have longed for significance since the fall is that God intended us to have it from the beginning. Nothing that he ever made is more important than human life. When your soul cries out for significance, you're longing for something God intended for you to always have.