September 20 I Tuesday

Ecclesiastes 4-6

2 Corinthians 12

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  

—Luke 19:10

No one suffers anxiety over losing an empty soup can, but if we were to lose our wallet, we would do everything we could to find it. To be described as lost is to be of value, and this is the starting point of our relationship with God. Every human being is of immense value to God—all of us people He wants found.

       It is interesting to know what Scripture says about three specific categories of people God is actively seeking. Among them are the resistant. God says through Isaiah, “I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call on My name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I’” (Isaiah 65:1). This tells us that God is the initiator in our relationship with Him and will seek us even if we resist and do not care to be found. When God begins to work in our lives, it is not always with an awareness of Christ, but a restlessness we feel because of probing questions He places within our hearts about life’s meaning and purpose.  

       Secondly, God seeks among the rebellious. Philip came from Bethsaida, a town Jesus would later describe as being antagonistic towards Him. Despite Philip growing up in this environment, the Spirit had no problem in drawing him to Jesus. We also live in an environment that is growing increasingly antagonistic towards the gospel. In the Western world, we have had the privilege and blessing for the last 1,500 years of being conformed to Christian truths and principles, but though the church and Christian influence are on the decline, the Holy Spirit is not. Regardless of our environments or how rebellious we are, God will not stop seeking and breaking through to the most hardened hearts.

       The third category is responsive people, which many of the resistant and rebellious eventually become. We do not suddenly become a Christian, nor do we get intellectually persuaded. Because “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9), there first has to be the Spirit of God at work in our hearts. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them” (John 6:44). When we are drawn by the Spirit of God, we become increasingly aware of our need for forgiveness, which brings us to the cross of Christ, our sole means of being reconciled to God.

       To be lost is to be valued, and Jesus is a seeking Saviour, continually seeking the lost. What joy, then, when the Spirit breaks through, bringing to God a lost soul who He makes found, forgiven and filled!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for seeking me out, and drawing me to You. I pray for all lost souls to be drawn by Your Spirit into the saving grace of Your Son. Thank You, Father.