A lot of people wondered why i spoke at Hong Lim Park. This reflection summed up exactly why.
Today’s Reflection
SALVATION IS NOT simply a personal experience, a “me-and-Jesus” thing. When Zacchaeus experienced salvation in the presence of Jesus, that change immediately affected all who touched his world. He would repay any that he had defrauded, and he would give half of all he had to the poor. Not for one minute do I think Zacchaeus then returned to his old ways, living isolated from Jesus’ followers. Rather like the early Christians in the Book of Acts, he would have sought the fellowship of like-minded souls to remember the words of Jesus, to do works of compassion and justice, and to pray.
Growth into salvation affects us personally, socially, and politically. Conversion in each area helps us to develop a balanced spirituality necessary for living in God’s intended shalom. This experience of conversion in different areas is best expressed by the prophet Micah: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”(Micah 6:8).
– Ann Hagmann
Climbing the Sycamore Tree
From page 91 of Climbing the Sycamore Tree: A Study on Choice and Simplicity by Ann Hagmann.