Jump Start # 1465

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

  Jesus came at a specific time in world history for a specific reason. He was on a divine mission to save mankind from a destiny of Hell. He came to save and redeem. In Revelation it states that He “went out conquering and to conquer.” God sent Jesus to save us. That is the theme of the Bible. That is what the Bible is all about. There are two thoughts to be shared from this:

First, Jesus stayed the course. His mission was to seek and to save. He did just that. Have you ever thought how difficult that must have been for Jesus? Not just doing the will of His Father, but being God on earth. God knows everything. How difficult it must have been for Jesus not to stray off His mission to help mankind in other areas. It would take centuries before modern medicine would come up with vaccines for polio and smallpox. Jesus could have told people in the first century what to do. It would take years and years  before surgeries were developed and understood. Jesus could have shared that information.  Teaching about water purification, sharing engineering principles, communication technology—so many things that are a part of our world, just imagine if Jesus had spread that information. Imagine what the apostles could have done if they had live streaming, Facebook and email. Imagine how fast the word would have read about Jesus  if the apostles had copy machines available to them. Imagine if Paul had a plane to travel in. Jesus didn’t share any of those things. He came to seek and to save the lost. He stuck with His purpose and His mission. That is impressive!

Sometimes we would do better if we stuck to our mission, as individuals and as congregations. We can get bogged down with stuff that really doesn’t matter. We get side tracked. We get doing so many things that we can forget what the main thing is. We must stick to our mission as well. We have a job to do and we need to do it. There was a lot of good that Jesus could have done just to improve life but He didn’t. He wasn’t sent to be a cure to all diseases. He wasn’t sent to improve mass travel. He wasn’t sent to help us eat better, live longer and improve the environment. Those would have been useful things, but that would not helped His mission. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Second, Jesus completed His mission. He finished what He came to do. Upon the cross, Jesus uttered, “It is finished.” Not, “I am finished,” but “It” is. The “it” was what He came to do. He fulfilled the plan. He did it.   John records Jesus saying in His prayer to the Father, “having accomplished the work You sent Me to do.” Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He did that. Salvation is in Christ. Hope, freedom and forgiveness are a part of that wonderful grace that God has extended to those who believe and obey His message.

Finished. Done. Completed. We know the feeling. A big project at work is finally completed. The student finally finishes the long paper he had to write. The highway that has been under construction for what seems to be years and years, finally is finished. No more orange cones. No more snarled traffic. Paul used similar language when he said, “I have finished the course.” Finished. Done with school, what a great feeling. Finished with therapy. Finished changing baby diapers. Finished is a milestone of accomplishments.

You are I are not finished with Heaven’s work. Not yet. God will call us when He is ready. Until then, it’s to the work we go. There are folks to be encouraged. There are people who need to know about the Lord. There are men who need to be developed to be the next elders. There are classes to teach, sermons to preach and articles to write. The work carries on. We must be busy in His work. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. Being organized and being efficient are valuable tools. We can waste too much time just looking for stuff. Times a wasting and we need to get at it. We can waste time by being lazy. We need a fire lit under us to move us and keep us going in the right direction. Living with a plan, as individuals and as a congregation, helps keep one on course.

Jesus came for a reason. Jesus finished what He came to do.

It would help us to remember those thoughts.

Roger