Thoughts from Camp - Day 4

"Seek God until He breaks your heart, and then preach from the bottom of your broken heart." This 

is what I often say to those I mentor. So with seven weeks of speaking, writing devotions and heading up ministry at a summer camp, I anticipate being challenged, stretched and broken as the weeks roll on. Each day I will post some lessons to be learned from the devotions and messages we have studied as a camp.

He was short, he was unloved, but more than that, he was the epitome of what it means to be born as a descendant of Adam. Zaacheus was greedy, he oppressed the poor and he had no regard for God's authority. But he met with Jesus, and in one meal, his life turned around. His very character was transformed, and after a brief encounter with the Christ, he was a generous, loving man with a desire to look out for the oppressed. This is what Jesus does for people. And as he left his meeting with Zaccheus, these are what Jesus' words were,

“For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10)

The 'lost' is referring to us. Being described as lost is actually a beautiful thing. When you throw out a popcan, you don't call it lost – its garbage. The only things you call lost are things of value – your wallet, your puppy, your wedding ring. To be lost is to be wanted. Nobody ever called something 'lost' they didn't want to find.

This reveals the heart of God towards humanity. When Adam ate the fruit and was separated from God, God didn't stand back in eternity and shrug his shoulders at our helpless condition, but it has always been His desire to redeem and draw humanity back into relationship with Him.

We all know what it means to be saved. When you are swimming in the lake, and go one stroke too far – when you don't have the energy or strength to pull yourself back above the waves – you need to be rescued. You need someone to plunge their hand down, grab a hold of you and pull you back up. And this is what Jesus did for a 'lost' humanity. Plunged his hand down, grabbed ahold of us and pulled us back up.

Born as descendants of Adam, we are born bound by the power and penalty of sin. Bound by its habits, we do what Adam did, usurp the authority of God, but in a thousand different ways. Knowing some day we will stand before a just God we await the due penalty of our crimes – eternal death.

But Jesus came to save the lost. When the Romans nailed Him to a cross, He was dying the death that we deserve. Taking our penalty. A perfect man died in our place. Which means that you and I, sinners, are given His righteousness. And He, a righteous man, took our sin. A transaction was made – He dies, and we live.

But He did not stay dead – and we do not stay bound to the habits of sin. He rose again, and this same power that raised Him from the dead comes and dwells in our hearts, enabling us to put away sin and to become more like Christ day by day.

So what is left for you and I? Christ has lived the life you could not live, and died the death you deserved. What is left for us to do? Absolutely nothing. There is nothing you can add to the perfection of Christ, and His perfection is the only good that could possibly be seen in you. Does this mean all lost people are automatically saved? Not at all, but in fact, God extends His grace towards those who trust Him with faith.

What is faith? To have faith is to trust, and more than that, to apply to one's own life. A lifeboat is no good on a sinking ship unless a passenger knows it is there, trusts it can save him, and gets in the boat. So it is with Christ's gift. We must know it is there, trust it, and make it our own.