The Gift of Adoption

Why are the family gatherings around the holidays so stressful? Lots of reasons, of course. We are trying to provide the perfect experience for an insane group of people. Every family has the nutty uncle, the grandma who makes the worst dessert, and the cousins that are just awkward and uncomfortable. Still, they are family. We long for that place where we belong and are loved. For many, the holidays are a reminder that they do not have such a place, as they spend the holidays alone. By coming into the world, Jesus became the path to our being adopted into God's family. We were outsiders, yet Christ brought us near, and we now have God as our Father. Nobody personifies this better than Zacchaeus. As a tax collector, he had alienated every Jew and was among the most hated of people. But, Jesus sought out Zacchaeus, and the main reason was that he was still family. And, it is amazing how being included in the family of Jesus totally reshaped how Zacchaeus then treated his own people.