He Came to Save
By Noelle Dey
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost. Luke 19:10 NLT
“Well… at least you look smart.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Being Asian and all… you look smarter than what you are. Maybe that will be enough to fool your professor into giving you a passing grade.”
I don’t know if my Dad’s words were sage wisdom, but somehow I got my diploma.
To this day, when I think of myself as a student, I feel the weight of failure. Even in my relationship with Jesus. For many years, that’s how I viewed Him. A heavenly teacher. I asked, “What would Jesus do?” Then I’d scour the scriptures and try to walk in His footsteps.
This is a faulty paradigm.
The best that can come from it is self-righteousness. I am a broken girl. An Asian with no math genes. And I try to be like Jesus with fragile, human effort.
In His hometown synagogue, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah. Prophecy had come to fruition.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Luke 4:18-19 NIV
Jesus finds joy in freeing us from our prisons. He wants to open our blind eyes. Jesus wants to set you and me free from our oppression. The Lord’s favor is on you. It is on me.
Isn’t that a breath of fresh air? You don’t have to be smart enough. Good enough. You just need to see Him for what He is. He’s your Savior. Your hero. It wasn’t a one-time transaction when you were first saved. It’s daily. The only qualification you need is to know you’re broken and you need help.
All of a sudden, I feel ultra-qualified. How about you? Jesus doesn’t want us to try to be His best student. He wants us to call to Him so He can save us. Then His power shines through our brokenness.
Read Luke 15. You can do it all at once, or you can break it up into three different days.
When you read verses 1-7, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, take note of Jesus’ joy when you allow Him to save you. He is the Good Shepherd.
In verses 8-10, the Parable of the Lost Coin, meditate on the Holy Spirit. It’s the Spirit that sweeps like the wind, looking for those of us who are lost.
And in verses 11-32, the Parable of the Lost Son, see how your Heavenly Father throws a party when you allow Him to find you and save you.
The trinity: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are exuberant and overflow with joy when we allow ourselves to be saved. They want to save us at the point of salvation and every day after.
Heavenly Papa, thank You for these freeing truths. We are so broken. But You find immense joy in being our hero. Let this truth grow deep roots in our hearts and set us free from our prisons. In Jesus’ Name we pray, amen!
For more encouragement, check out Noelle’s book: Transformation by Truth: 30 days to a healthy heart, mind and body.
© 2020 by Noelle Dey. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Wednesday, 05 August 2020.
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