Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Alex Buabeng-Korsah
TOPIC: CALLED BY NAME
THEME SCRIPTURE: “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” — Luke 19:5 (NIV)
PREPARATORY QUESTIONS:
- Does God know our names, and is He interested in people like us?
Jesus never followed the crowd’s standards. While society elevated the impressive, He reached for the invisible. Zacchaeus—a tax collector, rich yet rejected for his corrupt life— climbed a tree that day in search of hope. What he found instead was God Himself, calling him by name.
Beloved, what transpired that day when Jesus called Zacchaeus by name teaches us three things about the Master.
- Jesus Chooses the Outcast.
God has always chosen the least likely. Augustine wrote, “God does not choose a person who is worthy, but by the act of choosing him, He makes him worthy.” Zacchaeus was despised, yet Jesus walked right past the crowds to look up and call him. This is the scandalous grace of God—He sees not just who we are, but who we can become in Him.
- He Calls Us by Name.
Zacchaeus had many labels—traitor, thief, cheat—but Jesus used none of them. Instead, He said, “Zacchaeus”, restoring dignity with one word. When Jesus calls your name, it isn't in condemnation but in love. He doesn't call us by nicknames: "Ugly Doggy", "Skull Face", "Fish Nkwan", etc. The name He speaks over you silences the accusations of men.
Therefore, thus sayest the Lord: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
- He Goes Against the Flow.
Jesus risked His reputation to associate with Zacchaeus, a man no one would, because he had a bad reputation. Why? Because Zacchaeus was ready for transformation. John Chrysostom once said, “It is not so much sin as despair that casts us into hell”. But Jesus never despairs over a soul. He pursues, even when the world condemns.
If you’ve been made to feel unworthy or cast aside, know this: Jesus is still calling out to those who climb the tree—those reaching just to see Him.
Remember: No label from the world can silence the voice of Jesus calling your name.
Precious one, you are not overlooked. You are not forgotten. You are seen, named, and wanted by the Master.
Remain blessed.
FURTHER READING – Luke 19
Call to Salvation: Today is your day if you have not received salvation by turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Click here to do so.
QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:
- Do you believe God calls you by your name, not your past?
- Are you more concerned with crowd approval than Christ’s call?
- How can you live with the confidence that Jesus chose you?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for seeing me when others pass me by. Thank You for calling me by name, not by my sin. I receive grace to respond to Your call, to open my life to You without shame or fear. May I follow You against the flow of the crowd, and rest in the truth that I am known and loved by You. Glory to God. Amen.
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Psalm 116; Revelation 15; Nehemiah 9
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