He Knows Each One By Name

Luke 19:5

“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

In business, it has long been recognized that a powerful leadership tool for senior managers is to get to know the names of every person within the organization. Even the person who cleans the building. Why? Because taking time to learn names shows that you actually care about someone.

But is this leadership strategy something new? No, our Father in Heaven has always known each one of us by name. All 7 billion of us currently alive at this present time!

A good example is found in the passage above where Jesus meets Zacchaeus, a tax collector. And remember this, first-century tax collectors were absolutely despised by the people of Israel. They were seen as collaborators with Rome.

But instead of ignoring Zacchaeus or saying “Hey, you up there,” Jesus actually called him by his name!

That is the surprising element of the story—Jesus not only shows personal recognition for someone He hadn't met, He shows personal recognition for someone despised by others! And from that moment on, Zacchaeus’ turned his life around. Here is the application, when it seems that no one knows or cares who you are, remember that Jesus does!

He knows each one of us by name. And He longs for us to know Him in a personal way too.