Sought and Saved

This morning I felt led to read from Luke 19:1-10 NIV:

[1] "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. [2] A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. [3] He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. [4] So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 

[5] When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” [6] So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 

[7] All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 

[8] But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 

[9] Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

I love this story, and I am glad I had the opportunity to reflect upon it again this morning.  I have shared this story on multiple occasions, back in the days when I  was leading retreats. It always spoke to me of the impact that meeting Jesus had on people.  They were changed, and Zacchaeus is a great example of someone radically changed in an instant.

This morning my main reflection is the last line, where Jesus describes His mission, " the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  

What a great reminder! 

He doesn't wait for the lost to find Him, He seeks them out!

We know Jesus only said and did what the Father told Him to do, so He already knew Zacchaeus was going to be His host that night, and we can gather that from their short conversation.  Jesus wasn't asking, and knew his name, so it was the plan all along!  Zacchaeus just wasn't aware.

Jesus wasn't just seeking him, because He knew He could get a good meal at his house, He had eternal purposes, namely salvation.

I am reminded of the story of the lost sheep (See Luke 15:3), where Jesus describes leaving the 99 to find the lost one, here we have a perfect example of Him finding and saving the lost one. 

This morning I am encouraged that this is still the heart of Jesus!

He knows who are lost, and He is seeking them to save them!

The Lord is working all things to His plan and purpose, and He will leave no one lost that He intends to find.

Thank you Lord that you sought me out and saved me!

Thank You for loving me enough to seek me out!

Thank You for allowing me to welcome You into my life!

Amen and Amen!