READING: 1 Samuel 14:15-16:23, Luke 18:24-19:10
It was one of the first Bible verses I ever memorized. The first was John 3:16, and the second was Luke 19:10– “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” At the time, I’m sure I focused on the latter part of verse 10 (“to save the lost”). I was a passionate evangelist for Christ, and I told everyone that He had come to save us. We were all lost and hopeless without Christ, but Christ had come to redeem us. This was His mission.
What I didn’t think about much is the first part of verse 10 (“the Son of Man has come to seek . . . the lost”). Jesus was the Son of the God who pursued Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen 3:8), and He, too, pursued Zaccheus: “When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house’” (Luke 19:5). After all, Jesus had come not for the healthy, but for the sick; He had come to heal sinners (Luke 5:32).
I’m reminded today that Jesus pursued me, too. He was surely instrumental in my family’s move that planted us next door to a Baptist deacon and his family. He raised upmy 12-year old 7th grade classmate who told me the gospel. He never allowed me to ignore what my friend taught me, no matter how hard I fought to do so. He continually knocked on my heart, and He didn’t stop until I turned to Him in faith and repentance as a 13-year old. How grateful I am today that Jesus both sought me and saved me!
PRAYER: “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Samuel 19-20, Luke 19:28-20:8