{"id":5883,"date":"2022-04-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5883"},"modified":"2022-03-05T18:01:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T00:01:20","slug":"the-tax-man-cometh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5883","title":{"rendered":"The Tax Man Cometh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April brings happy thoughts of spring: birds singing, trees budding, flowers blossoming, romance blooming. Just when we are beginning to enjoy a touch of spring fever, our peaceful mood vanishes once we realize taxes are due. Frantically we dig through that shoebox of receipts we call our filing system and try to meet the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something ironic about filing taxes in April, since virtually all the money we make from January through April goes to the government. Now don\u2019t get me wrong. I know we are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar\u2019s (Mark 12:17), but I do think our Caesar takes a little more than a fair share. This is nothing new. In biblical times, tax collectors (today we might call them the IRS) didn\u2019t have a great reputation either. Take for example a certain tax man from Jericho named Zacchaeus (Luke 19). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those days, there were only two major highways in Israel. One went right through Jericho, so Jericho was a hub of activity. It had a custom-like toll station where thousands traveled and had to pay taxes on every cow, calf, camel, or anything else breathing that came through. Since it was Passover time, there were tens of thousands of Jews going to Jerusalem on this road. There was quite a crowd\u2014and in this crowd was Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now word of Jesus and His miracles had spread. All of these people passing through Jericho wanted to see him. Zacchaeus was no exception, but he did have a disadvantage. He was short\u2014very short\u2014but clever. He ran ahead of the crowd, climbed a sycamore tree near the road which allowed him to easily see above the crowd, and waited. He could see Jesus approaching. Then Jesus stopped near the tree and said, \u201cZacchaeus! Come down. I\u2019m going to your house today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zacchaeus was shocked, but probably somewhat pleased. After all, Jesus was a bit of a celebrity. The people were shocked as well, but not<\/strong> pleased. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Even worse, he was the chief tax collector\u2014considered a crook protected by the Roman government and despised by the people. They couldn\u2019t understand why Jesus would choose Zacchaeus to befriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We aren\u2019t privy to the conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus during their time together. All we know is that when Zacchaeus came out to address the murmuring crowd, he was a changed man. \u201cI will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure many thought, \u201cYeah, right! I\u2019ll believe it when I see it.\u201d That\u2019s what I\u2019d say if the IRS suddenly got religion. Yet Jesus said, \u201cThis day salvation has come to this house\u2026For the Son of man has come to seek and to save the lost.\u201d Perhaps His arm was resting on Zacchaeus\u2019s shoulder when He said it, because I\u2019m sure a bond formed between the two for such a transformation to take place. Zacchaeus was no longer lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many valid lessons can be drawn from this biblical account: stewardship, redemption, repentance, reconciliation, salvation, and grace. This list is endless. When I read these scriptures I see love. In spite of Zacchaeus being an unlovable sinner, Jesus loved him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love by itself can change so many things. Love can alter how we view others. It can create highs and lows of emotions. Romantic love can make the sky seem bluer, the grass greener. A mother\u2019s love can be unselfish and enduring. A father\u2019s love can be strong and courageous. A friend\u2019s love can be compassionate and understanding. However, the love Jesus has for the unlovable transforms lives. As one of the unlovable ones in life, I\u2019m truly thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*****<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..<\/em>.\u201d ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026 April brings happy thoughts of spring: birds singing, trees budding, flowers blossoming, romance blooming. Just when we are beginning to enjoy a touch of spring fever, our … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}