
Grace has supernatural power to change people. Just ask that wee little man. If you grew up in church, you might have learned a song about a wee little (and wicked) man named Zacchaeus. He was a money-loving hustler from Jesus’ day whom all his neighbors loathed, a man who loved to get and hated to give. Until one day when he stood up and said, “I want to give half of everything I have to the poor. And if I ever cheated anyone out of anything, I want to give it all back. No, I want to give back four times what I took.”
That’s change! So, how did that happen? Grace. Jesus saw Zacchaeus, morally small, greedy and unworthy, and he said, “I have to hang out with you today.” The neighbors muttered, “With him?” Jesus smiled, “Yes, with him.” Jesus’ shocking love and gracious presence moved Zacchaeus in a way that the shame of his neighbors could not.
The apostle Paul wrote about that same life-changing power of grace: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11,12).
Grace has the power to change all people. Even people like Zacchaeus. Even a person like you. I’m not sure what change you want to make in your spiritual life, but I do know that grace is always the best place to start.