Wednesday: To Save the Lost
Read: Luke 15:1-10, Luke 19:1-10
SOAP: Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Devotion:
When we hear such a succinct statement of Jesus’ ministry it can be tempting to boil down His message. We can simplify it to a spiritual message stripped of everything earthy and material. But the title of Son of Man encapsulates Jesus’ whole earthly ministry. Luke presents Jesus as the Savior of all humanity, the new Adam, the originator of a new people. He has come not just to seek out the one lost sheep or coin, but to incorporate the lost into His new family, new nation, new people: the redeemed.
This illustrates how our vertical and horizontal relationships are so intimately connected. When we are redeemed, we are not only reconciled to God, but we are also incorporated into the new creation He has already begun. Luke’s entire Gospel illustrates this: when Jesus began His ministry, He announced that He was coming to uplift the poor, release the captives, give sight to the blind, set the oppressed free, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (4:18). He came to inaugurate the new creation that will one day be consummated. He came to seek and save us, the lost, as part of His entire redemptive project.
Prayer:
God, thank You for seeking and saving me! Thank You for the new creation that is coming. Help me live in light of that reality as a member of Your family. Amen.