“For the Son of Man has come to seek and
to save that which was lost.”
(Luke 19:10)
Thoughts… This is the first and most foundational conviction that led Jesus, the Son of God, Second Person of the Eternal Trinity, to leave his throne in glory, come to earth as a man, and die the horrific death of the cross: To seek and save the lost.
John 3:16, the most compelling of all the verses of the Bible, reminds us of this driving conviction of God’s being: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The truth of that verse is so vitally important, obviously, because you and I are the eternal beneficiaries of God’s passionate, unstoppable love for lost people. But as indescribably wonderful as that is, there is more to it. You see, since lost people matter so dearly to God, they ought to matter deeply to us as well. This is fundamentally critical because, as Jacquelyn Heasley has said, “how you believe God perceives people determines how you respond to them.”
In other words, as you go about your day today, you cannot look into the eyes of another human being without seeing a soul so loved by God that he gave his only Son to die for their redemption. When the godless heathen sitting in the cubicle next to you or in the locker beside yours or in the unkempt house across the street from you is rubbing you the wrong way, just remember that they matter to God as much as you do! When you watch the evening news and see godless communists in China, or burka-clad woman in Baghdad, or murdering Hutu tribesmen in Rwanda, or suicide bombers in Gaza, or gang-bangers in your inner city, you are seeing the very kinds of people Jesus came to seek and save.
They matter to God. Jesus came to seek and save them just as much as he came to seek and save you. And that ought to make a big difference in how you think about them today.
Just remember, the people who drive you crazy drove Jesus to the cross.
Prayer… Lord, give me your eyes, that I may see all people as you see them.
One More Thing… “God loves each and every one of us as if there were only one of us. ” –St. Augustine
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