If I want to meet Jesus, and not only see Him, I have to come down from the tree like Zacchaeus did. Coming down from the tree for me means coming down from my lofty perch of being prideful and self-satisfied, coming down from the heights of my selfishness and greed, coming down from my self-seeking ways. It is only with humility that one can be generous. It is only in being generous that I am truly a disciple of Christ.
The true test of generosity, and of love, is to give to those who can give back or repay me, to give service to those who cannot serve me back, to love those who will not love me in return and in fact may even hate me. In the end, if I truly love, am I willing to give everything I have, including life itself, for those I profess to love?
Jesus said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:12-14