To Seek and Save

“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? Ezekiel 18:21-23

In Luke 15, as Jesus was sitting, the tax collectors and sinners had gathered around to hear Him speak. The pharisees and teachers of the law became offended at the sight of this, so Jesus proceeded to tell three parables, each following a similar outline: something was lost and then found, which resulted in rejoicing over that thing being found. 

Jesus uses these parables to express that He is after lost people. There’s a difference between a lost person and a lost cause. A lost cause is something that has no hope. However, with Jesus there are no lost causes. Anything with no hope is just something that has not been introduced to the love of Jesus. 

No matter how mature we are as believers, all of us have been lost, and all of us have sinned. If we do not ever have the perspective that we were personally lost at one time, then we will never appreciate this message and will probably play the role of the Pharisees who were accusing Jesus of hanging out with sinners. If you don’t think you’ve ever been lost, then you’re probably lost right now. There are two kinds of lost people—the ones who know it, and the ones who don’t. Which one are you?

We have to stop believing that there are lost causes, and we have to start realizing that with Jesus there are no lost causes, only lost people. Lost people can be found. God is patient with wicked people and wants them to turn from their ways. If Jesus came to seek and save the lost, we should do the same. We have to have patience with people that are lost the way that God has patience with us. We have to make a decision about how we’re going to treat broken people, and we have to make room for people to find their way.