Key Verse
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
(Luke 19:10)
Central Truth
Jesus came to save all the lost, regardless of their background or previous way of life. Through faith, the lost can be forgiven and made new.
GUEST OF A SINNER
Until about the age of 10, I attended a church that made me feel that I was unworthy of God’s blessing. In order to be “worthy” I had to go confess my sins to a priest and then serve out a penance. There was a sense of insecurity when communicating with God. I felt I couldn’t communicate directly with God but had to go through the priest. Jesus shows me through the story of Zacchaeus that he wants to be a guest in my home.
The story of Zacchaeus resonates with me because while I am not a crooked tax collector, I am a sinner in need of Jesus. After meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus realized his life needed straightening out. Zacchaeus was willing to give half of his possessions to the poor and to payback everyone he cheated four times what he had taken from them. Jesus does not call all of us to give half of our possessions away to the poor, but what he does want is for us to demonstrate inner change by outward action. Following Jesus in your head or heart alone is not enough. You show your faith by changed behavior.
A person is not saved because of a good heritage or condemned by a bad one. Faith is more important than genealogy. Jesus came to save all the lost, regardless of their background or previous way of life. Through faith, the lost can be forgiven and made new.
Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus came to this Earth to be a guest of sinners? In Matthew 9, the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus responds, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick . . . . For I have come not to call for the righteous, but sinners.”
Throughout his ministry Jesus was constantly a guest of sinners. Now my eyes are wide open. Jesus wants to seek us out and save us regardless of our past. We are forgiven and made new!
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
(Luke 19:10)
Central Truth
Jesus came to save all the lost, regardless of their background or previous way of life. Through faith, the lost can be forgiven and made new.
GUEST OF A SINNER
Until about the age of 10, I attended a church that made me feel that I was unworthy of God’s blessing. In order to be “worthy” I had to go confess my sins to a priest and then serve out a penance. There was a sense of insecurity when communicating with God. I felt I couldn’t communicate directly with God but had to go through the priest. Jesus shows me through the story of Zacchaeus that he wants to be a guest in my home.
The story of Zacchaeus resonates with me because while I am not a crooked tax collector, I am a sinner in need of Jesus. After meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus realized his life needed straightening out. Zacchaeus was willing to give half of his possessions to the poor and to payback everyone he cheated four times what he had taken from them. Jesus does not call all of us to give half of our possessions away to the poor, but what he does want is for us to demonstrate inner change by outward action. Following Jesus in your head or heart alone is not enough. You show your faith by changed behavior.
A person is not saved because of a good heritage or condemned by a bad one. Faith is more important than genealogy. Jesus came to save all the lost, regardless of their background or previous way of life. Through faith, the lost can be forgiven and made new.
Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus came to this Earth to be a guest of sinners? In Matthew 9, the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus responds, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick . . . . For I have come not to call for the righteous, but sinners.”
Throughout his ministry Jesus was constantly a guest of sinners. Now my eyes are wide open. Jesus wants to seek us out and save us regardless of our past. We are forgiven and made new!
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