The One Thing

"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.' And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 

'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'" (Luke 19:5-10, ESV)

One of the best lines from the Billy Crystal movie City Slickers is where the grizzled trail boss Curly tells Crystal's character that live boils down to "one thing" and that it's up to him to find what that is for himself. It's meant to be a life lesson in the midst of a comedy and the point eventually is driven home during the movie.

When Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from the sycamore tree, he sits down with him and, in the middle of the drama around them, lays out his own simple "one thing" - to get back the family God created. That is the clear, unequivocal reason Jesus took on human form and did what he was about to do in the next couple chapters of Luke's account.

I wrote about this several years ago using three "R's" (because that's what a preacher's kid strives to do, right?). I laid out the eternal plan for a Rescue, a Redemption, and a Restoration in that post. I was reminded of it when I heard this passage in Luke and checked the notes I had taken at some point. I've referred to "two hinges" of Jesus' birth and death as vital to "setting the door" so he could ultimately kick it wide open at the resurrection. All of this is a part of the "one thing" plan - to seek out and save what God lost.

I find the marvelous simplicity of this to be overwhelming at times. While my Crooked Path may be littered with my attempts at finding my purpose, I am, led by a Father and accompanied by a Divine Brother who never waver from their goal. They sought me out so they could bring me back. I am the living example of their One Thing.