Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: The Source of Love! (LISTEN HERE)
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Mission accomplished.
Zacchaeus came to see Jesus and he left a saved man.
Of all the people in the crowd that day, Jesus connected with Zacchaeus. Does that mean he didn’t love the rest of the crowd or they weren’t important? Not at all. But this day was the day he intentionally sought after Zacchaeus so he might save him.
Why? Because Jesus loved Zacchaeus. Because he loved him, he saw him and invested in him. All these expressions of love God used to bring the faith of Abraham to the heart of Zacchaeus.
Love does save. Without love, Zacchaeus would still be lost.
This is the same love that found a way to bring salvation to your heart. It’s the same love that led Jesus to seek and find you and me so that we too might experience his love and be saved.
More specifically Jesus’ love saves.
Yet, as we live out the love that Jesus has shown to us, God uses those expressions of love to build a bridge to the heart of another soul.
The Apostle John wrote this:
1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
People get a glimpse of God’s love when we love them.
Earlier in Jesus’ ministry he taught this: (Matthew 5:16)
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Consider the opportunities you have had to talk about Jesus? Do they follow one of your weaker moments when you ignored someone, got angry, or just were rude? Or did they follow an expression of love, kindness, generosity, etc.? I would guess the latter.
Love opens doors to share Jesus’ love.
The Apostle John also wrote:
1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
The way we love others is our expression of gratitude for the love we have been shown. When others experience God’s love through us, it points them to the saving love of God. When the saving love of God touches the heart of an individual…”Today salvation has come to this house.”
Love saves.
Apply: Make a commitment with the Lord’s help to express his love to the people with whom you interact today. See how God uses those expressions of love for you to point people to his love. Be intentional about it!
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for continuing to show your love to me. Help me with your Spirit to show your love to others. Use those encounters to build a bridge to another soul’s heart so that they too might believe in you and be saved. AMEN.