Luke 19:5b

"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

What's in a name? I've heard it said that the most beautiful word in any language is the name of a person. Some of who I consider the most considerate are those who reference my name many times in a conversation, sometimes many times in a sentence. Makes me feel known. Makes me feel personalized. I believe all people want to sense that level of intimacy with most they come into contact with.

Occasionally I'll encounter someone who I've never met say my name as if they knew me. Takes me back by surprise. 'Am I acquainted with this person but don't recall?', I ask myself. 'Perhaps they know me from another venue where they heard my name, but I never had the privilege of meeting them', I say to myself. Now I'm embarrassed that I don't know their name and reciprocate with like personalized greeting.

Zacchaeus was one among many in the throngs and masses who struggled to gain but a glimpse of Jesus. So desperate to see Him, Zacchaeus ironically lowered his stately stature by elevating himself in the sycamore tree. No doubt to his utter surprise the Savior looked up and caught Zacchaeus' eye. Maybe the tax collector tried to hide himself behind a limb and its leaves. After all, he was short in height, prompting him to climb to the virtual vantage point in the first place. All he wanted to do was see. Now he's been seen. And not only is he seen, he's known and called out by name. "Zacchaeus", Jesus yells. 'He knows me? He knows my name? Now I'm really embarrassed. Look at all of these people. They're now looking at me', is perhaps what Zacchaeus said to himself. "Make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house", says Jesus. 'If He knows my name, then He must know what I do. But wait a minute, Jesus wants to come to my house, in spite of who I am. I've never met anyone like this', again, perhaps what Zacchaeus might have said to himself at that moment.

Jesus knows my name. (cf. Revelation 3:5) I'm not just 'Thomas' to Him, I'm His Thomas. He's called me out, in spite of who I am. He invited me to make haste, come down from my self-elevated internal view and look up in a humble and lowly estate. 'Come down, Thomas, come down. Greet me with a warm embrace. I absolutely must come stay in your house', demands Jesus.

What's in a name? Everything, and most of all my life.