100 Days to a Healthier Churchनमूना

Day 11 Today’s Big Idea: To seek and to save the lost . If the leadership of the church is called to equip God’s people to continue the work of Jesus on earth, what was that work? Thankfully, it’s not a mystery we have to dig very deep to figure out. Jesus told us the answer very clearly. Key Verse: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Thoughts to Consider: The context of this well-known scripture is very important. It’s the last verse in the story of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus. While this is a favorite story to tell kids, the lessons in it are deep and mature. Jesus and His disciples were traveling toward Jerusalem, where He knew He would be crucified. By the time they made it to Jericho, less than sixteen miles from Jerusalem (less than twenty-six kilometers), the crowds were so big that Zacchaeus had to climb into a tree to see Jesus. But the tree-climbing isn’t the point of the story. After spending time with Jesus, Zacchaeus repented of his sins (which were many) and offered restitution beyond what the law required. Still, that wasn’t enough for the religious leaders, who were trying to trap Jesus in the act of doing something against their laws, which is what He did here by eating in the home of Zacchaeus. Jesus regularly spent time with the wrong people. That was a habit the Pharisees could not abide. So Jesus used opportunities like this one to set them straight. There are no wrong people, but there are broken people, lost people, hurting people. And that’s who Jesus came to seek and to save. The religious people of Jesus’ day were often confused by Him. And as churchgoers ourselves, most of us have more in common with the Pharisees in Jesus’ day than we have with Zacchaeus. How does Jesus’ example of seeking, spending time with, and loving sinners affect us today? What about us? Do we spend any time with the kinds of people Jesus came to seek and to save, or do we spend all our time with other believers? How can we be the light of the world if we only hang out with other candles?