In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says,
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10
These words conclude the story of Zacchaeus. If we are Christians, Christ-like-ones, we too should be seeking and saving the lost. Christ picked Zacchaeus out of a crowd. “This is the one.” He saw one man whose heart was ready right at that moment.
Was this a divine insight on Jesus part? Maybe. We Christians should expect a divine insight at times and be bold enough to follow through. But, maybe this wasn’t divine insight. Maybe it was just Jesus being observant. Zacchaeus looked like a seeker. He had climbed the tree to get a look. We need to learn to see the seekers. That’s a learnable skill.
God is still seeking the lost and he wants us to learn how to find them. How do you learn? Open your eyes and ask the Lord to show you a Zacchaeus today. Seek the seeker!
See related articles on Person-to-Person Evangelism:
- Seek the Seeker, by Mike Shaughnessy
- Person to Person – A Practical Approach to Effective Evangelism, by Jim Berlucchi
- Sharing Good News Without Fear or Shame, by Brendan Murray
- Everyday Evangelism – Being Open and Natural, by Jim Berlucchi
- The 24/7 Disciple Challenge, by Tadhg Lynch
- Building Evangelistic Bridges and Community Environments that Lead People to Full Life in Christ, by Jim Berlucchi
- The Reluctant Evangelist: A passage that explains why many don’t respond to the Good News, by Steve Clark
- Tear the Roof Off for Them! by John Hughes
Top image credit: Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Tree, watercolor illustration by James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum. Image in the public domain. See The Life of Christ Illustrated by James Tissot: An Artist with a Burning Compulsion to Paint the Narrative Story of the Bible.
Mike Shaughnessy is a lifelong member of the Servants of the Word, an international ecumenical brotherhood of men living single for the Lord. He is a prolific writer. He has written extensively about youth work and currently leads Grandly, a ministry helping grandparents pass on their faith to their grandchildren. He lives in Lansing, Michigan USA.