Yesterday I was reading about Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke. At the end of the story Jesus tells the little man, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (ESV Luke 19:10) As I looked at that verse a thought ran across my mind. Why does God need to seek anyone? After all, doesn’t He know all?
I have to seek for my keys each morning because I don’t always remember where I put them. They are typically in one of four or five places, but most mornings I don’t remember which one of those places hold my keys and therefore I have to seek them out. Yesterday my family and I went to the baseball fields to watch a friends’ son play t-ball. We knew their team wore black uniforms and that is all we knew. There were eight fields, ready, set, go! We had to seek them out. It was easy to narrow them down by the color of uniforms on the field, but it was still a hunt.
But, God doesn’t need to seek us. Seriously, where could we go that we are out of His sight, and what can we do that is outside of His knowledge? So, the question for me yesterday as I pictured Zacchaeus climbing down out of the tree and looking up into Jesus’ eyes and hearing him say, “I have come to seek the lost,” seems odd to me. Then it occurred to me. God doesn’t seek us out for His benefit. He knows where we are, both physically and spiritually. He doesn’t need to ever “seek” us out.
He seeks us out for our benefit. It is our reminder that no matter what you do, where you go, what you say, or what situation you find yourself in, God is seeking you. He wants to be with you. But, it is more than that; he is not just interested in being with you, I would say He is motivated by it. Remember when He was in the Garden and Adam and Eve had just sinned and He was calling out to them? Remember all those times when Israel turned from God and followed whatever new thing their heart wanted and God sent His prophets calling out to them? As a father, He wants his family to be with Him, and when they are not… he seeks them! But not for his benefit, for ours!
He seeks you because He wants you to remember, it’s not about your failures… it’s about His successes. It’s not about your sin… it’s about His forgiveness. It’s not about your inconsistencies… It’s about His faithfulness. It’s not about your lostness… it’s about His seeking!
Maybe you needed to be reminded that if you haven’t spent time with God today, He is seeking you. If you haven’t spent time with Him this week, He is seeking you. If you haven’t spent time with him this year, He is seeking you. If you can’t rememeber the last time you spent time with him, guess what… He is still SEEKING YOU!
Be blessed,
Craig
Simply Craig Yates 