Friday Reading: Luke 19 1-10
Key Verse: Luke 19 10
10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Devotion:
I find it so reassuring and of so much comfort when I read words such as these that Jesus spoke. Not only was He assuring us that He is actively seeking to save the lost but that He has been doing the same from the beginning of time. He knows what we are and He knows what we may become and yet He is still willing to stand by and wait for us to turn back to Him and ask for that forgiveness…
When Jesus told those around Him that that day was the turn for Zaccheus and his household to hear the gospel and to be saved, He reminded them of that fact that that same promise was made back in the time of Abraham to all his family. God is not one to forget about the promises that He has made and He certainly will not change those promises over time as we continue to do wrong against Him! Just because we are weak and change our minds does not mean that God should show any weakness nor that He should have to or want to change His mind!
Zaccheus may well have been the worst of a bad bunch with regard to extorting taxes out of people who did not have the means, but God was the one who knew what lay inside his heart and knew that He would be able to light that fire for Christ in a heart of stone. Even those close to Jesus murmured at what He was about to do; but that did not stop Him from laying His life down for people like that.
How we fail in comparison to what Christ has done for us. How weak we look in comparison to the strength of Christ. How wonderful it is to know that He will still forgive us even though we are the ones who give in, fall down, cave in and generally make a bad show of everything!
Points to Ponder:
Do you do things wrong?
Do you know Christ wants to forgive you?