Zacchaeus and financial commitment

Luke 19:1-10

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 being a short man he could not, because of 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 down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the 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. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

In the past I have challenged the development officer (or minister of stewardship) to seek the "bi-lateral" blessing in the asking for a gift. It is bi-lateral when the steward (donor) experiences blessing from God as they respond to His call on their lives and (temporary) possessions and the school who received the gift is blessed as well.

This is the transformational giving that begins the "whole life stewardship" that we will speak to in the future.

Until confronted with the truth about himself, Zacchaeus was self-sufficient and in total control of his money.

He obeyed Jesus and got of the tree, encountered Jesus as a guest in his house, and then responded mightily with his treasure.

Jesus clearly ties the Gospel transformation to Zachaeus' response, "Today salvation has come to this house,..."

This is a vivid example of how and why we fund-raisers must link the Gospel to giving. If we merely solicit a gift for the good of the school, we miss the spiritual dimension of giving. Giving is an act of worship and it reflects God's grip on our life.

We do not want to assuage someones guilt for having too much money, nor do we want to puff someone up who "graces us" with a large gift. The Kingdom must always be in view and the Lord cares deeply about our motivations for giving, not just the act.

If we can ask for gifts and help the donor see the Kingdom impact, we are becoming the ambassadors of Christ that He calls us to be.

Let's think about "linkages" the next time we seek funds.