Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he...

Something came to me today while I was reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I was reading about how we serve leftovers to a holy God.
Something occurred to me.
I might not be an IRS agent... believe me, that would not be a career I'd thrive in. I might not be the kind of gal to break kneecaps if my neighbors won't pay for protection. As a kid I never took anyone's milk money.
I might even venture to guess (although probably this is very hoity-toity of me to say) that most of my friends and aquaintances like me.
Despite the obvious disparity though... I'm pretty sure this is true.
I am Zacchaeus.
So you know how it went down I'm sure... "He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree, and He said, "Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today!"
Stick with me, this won't take forever... so Francis Chan pointed out the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18. The young wealthy guy comes to Jesus offering his works, and Jesus points him to the cost of discipleship: it costs everything. The rich young man turns away, not willing to pay the price.
Verse 27 says "What is impossible with man is possible with God." Then he proves it with searching out Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus is the polar opposite of the rich young ruler for a couple reasons. He didn't keep the law. He was an enemy of God's people by serving Caesar, and because he stole from them to line his pockets. And he didn't seek out Jesus with boldness. He climbed into a tree hoping to catch a glimpse... but he sure didn't try to call attention to himself.
Henry has a story book that show Zacchaeus trying to see Jesus from the midst of the crowd and it shows the dirty looks from the good Jewish men. Not like the rich kid who probably had the respect of his peers.
Anyway, what I've always loved about this story is that Jesus saw Zacchaeus. He would have had to be looking for him. Noone else wanted to acknowledge his existence but Jesus was looking for him.
Now Francis Chan pointed out something I'd never noticed before. The two stories are juxtaposed. The rich ruler's response to Jesus is recorded in Luke 18, Zacchaeus' story is told in Luke 19. Two rich guys. One turned away. The other joyfully gave half of his money to the poor and repayed everyone he'd ever defrauded 4 times what he'd stolen. Criminy! Can you imagine? He'd be penniless after that. But that's just the point isn't it!?
Now here's the application:
Jesus looked for me. Singled me out. Pointed at me. Said "today I'm going to come stay with you!"
What am I going to do about it?
I'm rich. I live in America. We own a cute house. We have 2 dogs, 2 kids, 3 bedrooms, 2 cars, a motorcycle. For crying out loud! I'm rich. I never thought of myself that way!
It's time. I gotta start giving God more than my leftovers. I could use help as I try to figure out how to do that... as I count the cost, as scripture says. God help me!