November 21, 2024 Devo

November 21st, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
Questions Jesus Asked
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? – Matthew 18:12 (NIV)
“God Is Looking for You”

Not long ago I had a conversation with someone who was in a pretty dark place. Throughout the conversation, they openly admitted that they had wandered a long way from God and were lost. They said they knew the road they were on was one that was leading them to death and destruction. In fact, they had no trouble at all confessing that they were just one step away from hell and desperately needed to be saved by God. What they couldn’t accept though was that they were actually WANTED by God.
Have you ever been there? So steeped in sin or so blinded by Satan that you’ve lost all value for yourself? Have you ever felt asa so hopeless, so dirty, or so unworthy that you couldn’t fathom the idea that your life was truly redeemable? Being “lost” isn’t a place you get to or even behavior that you engage in. Being “lost” is believing you can’t be found because you don’t deserve to be found.
Some of that mentality is our own fault. We often hold up people as being the “desirable” ones. If you get good grades in school, you’re a “good” student. If you excel in sports, you are one of the “exceptional” ones. If you succeed at your job, you’re a “valuable” employee. See the pattern? But if your life goes sideways, you make some bad choices, or get shackled by an addiction, you’re a loser. And who wants a loser?
God does. God operates by a whole different value system than we do. To God, ALL students are precious, whether they get all A’s or all F’s. God believes every employee has significance and worth, even the ones who fail at their jobs. That’s why God doesn’t just hang out with the ones who stay on the straight and narrow path. God goes after those whose lives go sideways. He seeks to restore those who have made bad choices. And He steps into the world of the entrenched addict and offers them The Hand that can pull them out. The question Jesus asked in our passage today wasn’t a question. It was a picture. It was a beautiful image of a God who is looking for YOU—no matter where you might be. Time to come home. That’s God’s Word for you today.