Devotions: Are You Like Zaccheus?

 

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

This verse comes at the account of Zaccheus, a small man who had to climb a tree so he could see Jesus passing by, but as Jesus passed He called to Zaccheus and had lunch with him. In response Zaccheus, who was a corrupt tax collector, vowed to repay everyone what they were owed with interest. Jesus received a lot of condemnation for entering his house and this was His response. He also pointed out the fact that Zaccheus was also a Jew, just like the men who condemned him, but he received salvation because he changed and they didn’t.

God does not have favorites. He shows no partiality. Salvation may have started with Israel, but it is available to everyone. That is why Jesus came; to save everyone. He loves all equally and does not desire for any to be lost. He wants everyone to have a chance, that is why He is still waiting to come back.

There was another point with this statement however. He came for the lost. The religious leaders of His time did not believe they were lost, so they could not be saved. It is not until we see our need for Jesus that we can and will surrender our lives to Him. If we don’t think we need to be saved, why would we need a Savior? There are many who claim faith in Jesus just because they don’t want to go to hell, but they don’t truly understand what that means. For them it is just fire insurance, a bus ticket to their final destination. However, salvation doesn’t work that way. Jesus did not come to give us an easy life and a ticket out of hell. He came to save us from sin, to pay the penalty for our actions so that we could live in obedience to Him. He didn’t give us freedom to do what we want, but freedom from slavery to sin. We all start out as slaves to sin. We really don’t have the ability to choose whether to obey God or satan initially. It is only Jesus’ power in us after salvation that gives us that capacity. Sure we can be “good” prior to salvation. That merely shows that we are made in God’s image, but we cannot be godly without God’s help, especially if we are still owned by and following sin. Salvation is more than just saying “I believe.” It is saying, “I have done wrong, I need a Savior,” and then committing to live for Him, the way that He says. We won’t do this perfectly, but we need to try, not out of duty or to earn anything, but out of love for the one who saved us. Salvation is an exchange, our broken sinful heart for the tender heart of God, His life for mine. Anyone who thinks that because we can’t be perfect that we are free to live as we please has sadly missed the point, and will likely miss the bus in the end. Saving the lost means taking us from our lost place and putting us where we are supposed to be, returning the runaway to family, releasing the prisoner from death row and taking them home. We have to leave our place of sin and live where God intended from the beginning, His way.

Are you lost? Do you need to be saved? If not, are you living where and how God wants or according to your own terms? Does your faith impact your daily life? Ask God to show you where you are and where you need to be. Ask Him to soften your heart to Him and His word.

 

 

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