Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
November 27, 2024
Luke 19:1-10
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. 2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus. 7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 The Human One came to seek and save the lost.”
Good Morning! Jesus came to save us!
Have you ever felt lost? This morning, I awoke from one of those weird dreams in which I couldn’t quite determine where or why I was in that place. There were certainly familiar landmarks, but then there were mountains that didn’t belong if that was the location. I went from walking to running, to riding a bike, and then to riding a motorcycle in rapid succession. I seemed to be going to retrieve something important, and there were faceless ones who were trying to keep me from finding that which was lost. Maybe I was the new “James Bond.”
I was drawn to the last verse as I read this very familiar passage about Zacchaeus. “The Human One came to seek and save the lost.” We are called to go out and make disciples for the transformation of the world. This is a very daunting task. We have to break it down into manageable pieces.
As I consider the lost, I imagine those who wander through their lives without purpose. Perhaps, to the world, they are faceless beings who occupy the space next to us. How many lost souls pass through our lives without notice? Why don’t we see them as lost?
Feeling or being lost is not confined to our physical existence. We can be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually lost. Each has its own parameters, but to be lost creates a feeling of hopelessness. Without hope, we fade into the backdrop of our lives and become nothing more than a transparent being that occupies space.
Jesus calls us to come down or out of our hiding places because he is coming to spend time with us in our space. Christ brings hope to the hopeless and life to the lifeless. Paul McCartney recognized the plight of the lost in his lyrics to Eleanor Rigby.
Jesus answers that question. All the lonely people belong to Jesus. We are called to seek those who are lost and bring them home.
Dear Lord, We are your children! When we are lost, you seek us until we are found. Help us seek the lost as you call us to do. Praise be to God! Thank you! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Jesus is reaching out to us no matter where we are.
Seek the lost as Christ seeks you! Pastor Liz
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