Luke 19:1-9 (NIV) – Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.  When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come dwn immediate.  I must stay at your house today.”  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.  All teh people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”  But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” 

I share this devotion from Dr. Charles Stanley of intouch.org:

When Jesus left His home in heaven, He didn’t come to earth to be a
superstar. He came to serve. As His disciples, we’ve been left here on
earth to follow His example and serve a lost and hurting world. The
story of Zacchaeus shows us some Christlike qualities that we need to
develop in order to serve as the Lord did.

Awareness: Although surrounded by a crowd, Jesus
stopped and took notice of one particular man perched in a tree.
Zacchaeus was hated and rejected because he was a tax collector.
Although he was rich, there was something missing in his life, and
Christ recognized his need. There are people all around us “hanging in
trees”–needy, empty, and searching for hope. But too often, we’re
preoccupied with our activities and don’t even notice them.

Availability: Jesus was heading to Jerusalem to carry
out the most important act in human history: our redemption. Yet He
stopped to have a meal with a spiritually needy man. What could be so
important that it keeps you too busy to give others what they need
most–your time?

Acceptance: Although Zacchaeus was a notorious sinner,
Jesus didn’t say, “Clean up your act, and then I’ll come to your
house.” We’re called, not to fix people but to share the transforming
gospel of Christ.

How are you doing at serving those around you? Maybe it’s time to slow
down and open your spiritual eyes to see all the needy people. God
places opportunities all around us, but if we’re not attentive, we’ll
miss them. Sometimes you just have to look up to see who’s in the tree.