To Seek - To Save

Text: “Today salvation has come to this house…For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:9, 10).

What is salvation? Salvation means deliverance from some type of evil. The evil can be real or spiritual. Jesus is talking about a type of salvation whereby He liberates man from anything that might prevent him from enjoying the highest blessing God has in store for him.

What are some of the things keeping man from enjoying all the blessings God has in store for him? Man is not able to enjoy God’s blessings if he is involved in adultery, uncleanness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, jealousy, envy, murder, drunkenness and so forth. These things are works of the flesh promoted by the devil himself.

The practice of these things will prohibit entrance into the kingdom of God. God’s Word says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).

God wants us to spend eternity with Him, so he offers us special qualities. He offers us the “Fruit of the Spirit.” What is the “fruit of the Spirit?”

“The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

God knows man has a sinful nature, which came upon him because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Since that time, every person born is born with a sinful nature. Temptation is always before man. Temptation was set before Jesus on three separate occasions, but He did not yield to it.

Temptation itself is not a sin. Sin occurs when man yields to the temptation. Since each of us has a sinful nature and temptation is around us, we make wrong choices resulting in sin.

There is no way we can live the way God, the Father, wants us to live if we do not live by the words in red. In order to live by the words in red, we have to accept the One who said those words. Jesus gives each of us that opportunity.

Our Scripture says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). The Son of Man is Jesus Christ.

Whom was Jesus seeking?

Whom did He come to save?

Who was lost?

Jesus seeks each one of us because we are all sinners. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all fall short, but this is not God’s plan for our life. He did not create us to be victims, but He did create us to be victors.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 623).

God did not create us to be slave to sin. He does not want us to pay the price of a sinful death simply because we failed to be acquainted with the righteous life that is within our reach.

Therefore, God sent His Son into the world to shine in the darkness cracks and crevices of humankind. God’s light can show each one of us the sins in our life. Our eyes open to view a greater horizon when His light exposes our sins.

Jesus came to save people living in the dark shadows of sin. He came to deliver them from a life of sin and to show them how to embark upon a new divine type of life.

God’s love is so great for humankind that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

If we truly love someone, we will do everything we can for that person. We will give all we have so the person can have whatever they want or need. A husband and wife have the utmost concern and care for each other. When either of them hurts, the other feels that hurt.

Parents are protective of their children and want the best for them. They make sacrifices for their wants and needs. These parents want their children to have what they did not have. This could be love, understanding, fellowship, attention or a feeling of importance.

God seeks people in various stages of their life. He appears to the person who starts and ends each day with a glass or bottle of some alcoholic beverage.

He stands before the individuals who depend on pills for their existence. He is beside the person who constantly injects narcotics into their body.

God is watching the individual who is cheating or taking advantage of someone. He is observing the man or woman as they break their marriage vows.

God is seeking all those who are not looking up to Him as their source. He is seeking those who believe in their heart they are in control of their life. He is seeking those focused on what the world has to offer instead of what He has in store for them.