This is the first in a series for parents who want to teach the love of Jesus. Others will post the second Tuesday of the month

Scripture reference – Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was not liked by the people because he took taxes from the people and kept some for himself. He was a wealthy man. He was also short. And he was curious about Jesus. When Jesus came to his town, Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd that was following Jesus and climbed a sycamore-fig tree so that he could see Jesus above the people. When Jesus passed by he said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed Jesus gladly.

All the people were surprised and they said to each other that Jesus was going to the house of a sinner because they really didn’t like Zacchaeus. They were critical of Jesus because he was being a friend to Zacchaeus. But Jesus didn’t care about that.

Zacchaeus said to Jesus, “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.” It sounds like he knew he had cheated people out of their money. Being with Jesus made Zacchaeus want to do the right thing.

Jesus came to show love to all people.

Thoughts to discuss:

• Have you ever felt like you were different than others? Did you want to be a part of the group?
• Have you ever cheated or taken something that didn’t belong to you? Did you feel guilty?
• Did you know that Jesus came here to earth with love for everyone even people that you may not like?

   I raised three children as a single mother before I remarried. I have experienced the potholes, pests, and perils of being the single head-of-household. As an educator in regular and special education for twenty years I know a great deal about child development and how to handle kids. I am the founder of SMORE for Women, a nonprofit whose goal is Single Moms, Overjoyed, Rejuvenated, and Empowered. I'm a Certified Professional Coach and my stories have been published in several books and magazines. My book, Living Learning Loving is available on Amazon.