“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” Luke 19:10
Have you ever used the self-checkout lanes in Walmart? I find them pretty convenient when I have only a few items to purchase and I’m in a bit of a hurry. One afternoon I bee-lined it for an open lane and began to set down my bag when a lady rushed up next to me and began looking down at the bagging area.
“I’ve lost my keys,” she said in a voice that was laced with a bit of panic. I sympathized with her and began looking around the bagging area. She wasn’t there more than fifteen seconds before she rushed away, heading towards the customer service area. As I began to check out my groceries, I shot up a quick prayer for this lady that she would find her keys. I have found myself in that situation more times than I care to admit, so I could totally empathize with the feeling.
As I prayed, I finished checking out and paying for my items, setting them in the bag I had brought in the bagging area. Items all bagged, I lifted them up and strapped the bag over my shoulder. As I raised the bag, a clinking sound emitted from underneath the bag. Sure enough, there were the keys!
I snatched them up quickly and rushed down the same path the lady had just taken to the customer service desk. Gratefully, the clerk knew what I was talking about when I showed her the keys and explained. They had her contact information. Her keys would be found.
I never saw that woman again, but I can easily imagine the relief and joy she felt upon finding what she had lost—something of value and importance.
Jesus made it abundantly clear as He turned all of the rules of the religious establishment of His day upside down that He had come to seek and save lost people. He knew that those who thought they had enough righteousness on their own were not of His kingdom.
It took His followers awhile to understand this, and some of them never got it. But the ones who were lost and found, they got it.
Take Zacchaeus, for instance. It says in Luke 19:1 that Jesus was just “passing through” Jericho where Zacchaeus lived and worked. It wasn’t even a part of His itinerary. Just like I wasn’t expecting to find something that was lost when I was in the checkout line at the grocery store–it just happened as I was passing through–so Zacchaeus was an unexpected stop along Jesus’ journey.
But we know better than that, don’t we? Jesus knows everything, and He knew He would be bringing joy and salvation to a soul who had social standing but was despised for it and for his dishonest dealings.
That joy wasn’t going to come from finding something he’d lost that signified earthly possessions like a vehicle. No, he’d been there and done that and found it wanting.
But this Jesus–Zacchaeus had heard about Him, and he knew that Jesus offered him something so much more. So, when Jesus called, “he hurried and came down and received him joyfully” (Luke 19:6).
And Jesus did the same. What about you? Are you joyfully receiving Christ? Do you know the joy of being found? You are worth much more than a set of keys to Him. Receive Him with joy today.
If you already know Him, rejoice in it afresh. And…pray that the lost souls that you know today will be found. They will be rejoiced over much more than a set of keys.
