Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich... And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
~ Luke 19:1-2,5 (NKJV)
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
~ Luke 19:9-10 (ESV)
"If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?"
~ Matthew 18:12 (NKJV)
For nearly a day I've been mulling over the circuitous route to Jerusalem Jesus took from Galilee through both Samaria and Jericho. The stop at Jericho was well out of His way, and required both a deep descent into the Jordan Valley and a return steep uphill climb to Jerusalem.
Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem took a detour through the mountains to look for lost sheep. Two were blind beggars. One was a wealthy tax collector. Though He journeyed to the cross, and had so very much of His own pain to face, The Son of Man came to seek out those last few lost sheep before He died.
Did you come straight to Jesus? Or did you travel a long and circuitous route before Jesus found you? I was seeking for so long that I rejoiced to finally stumble upon Him. All the while, He was seeking me.
I knew this already. But I smile at God's many ways to remind me of it.
Good Shepherd, some days I think I'm still wandering. We walk such a very long and circuitous route through life. How much better the journey is at Your side! Before You again return to Jerusalem, Lord, please keep calling to those last few lost sheep. Please use us to find them.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
amen wonderful post. I've also been going through your archives to help comfort me. I'm going in Friday at 1:00. God bless.
ReplyDeleteT. Anne, you'll remain in my prayers, especially on Friday.
ReplyDeleteI'm blessed to know you've found comfort in my archives. If you didn't already see them, read these:
The Bitter and the Sweet
Depths of Pain
I Will Not Be Afraid
I love you!
Anne
I didn't come straight to Jesus.
ReplyDeleteMy road was both light and dark, mountainous and flat, with high peaks and low valleys. I still walk that road, too. But now I have Someone walking it with me.
Anne, your blog has been a rich comfort for me at the same time as being a signpost...pointing, pointing, pointing to the ONE. Praise God for you. I cried as I read this today. I am so grateful God never stops pursuing me. I love thinking of Jesus and what he was thinking about as he headed off towards those lost sheep before he gave his life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for what you write!
~ Wendy
Truly, there is no limit to the width, depth, height and length of God's love.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I'm truly humbled by your words. It is so encouraging to know that my labor is not in vain.
May I never fail to acknowledge that whatever power my words have is there only because the Holy Spirit is speaking to you through them. It is not me, but all Him!
Thanks for letting God shine so brightly through you to others my friend.
ReplyDelete