Daily Journal: 17 November

Seeking and Saving

Jesus. Seeking.

Jesus. Seeking the lost. And by seeking them, we are changed, and are saved.

Luke 19:1-10 (GWT)

Jesus was passing through Jericho. A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd. So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Jesus, who was coming that way.

When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home. But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, “He went to be the guest of a sinner.”

Later, at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll give half of my property to the poor. I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way.”

Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants. Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.”

Everywhere Jesus went He healed. He invited people to Himself. Zacchaeus. The disciples. Immoral men. Destitute women. Orphans. Demon-possessed. Outcasts. Rich. Poor. Me. You. Being sought after by the One person who truly sees the soul. Being noticed by the One person who can truly repair and renew. Being accepted by the only person who can save.

Jesus reaches out and invites me to touch Him; to receive His compassion; His sight; His understanding; His grace; His humble, uncommon power; His healing; His redemptive plan. Every day.

Even when others grumble, He reaches out. Even when others turn their backs, He touches. Even when others misunderstand, He sees. He comes, seeking and saving.