The Savior that Still Seeks Us

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (John 20:19-20).

It had been a very busy day for the Lord. He was raised from the dead, He left the tomb, He showed Himself to Mary, He commissioned Mary and the women with her to be His first evangelists, and He revealed Himself to two pilgrims at Emmaus. But His work was not finished. He had one more appointment to make, one more promise to keep. Nothing would keep Jesus from this very important meeting with His disciples. Though their fear moved them to huddle secretly behind locked doors, Jesus’ love for His disciples compelled Him to show up, enter into their fellowship, and encourage them. Today the Spirit of Truth leads us to a wonderful illustration of the Savior that still seeks us.

When we reflect on the basic truth of the gospel, that Christ left Heaven, put on flesh, suffered and died a criminal’s death, and rose again, we are impressed anew at the amazing lengths our Father went through to reach out to us. We are amazed by the truth that simple faith enables us to receive the benefits of His great work. We are forgiven and restored to fellowship with God through repentance and faith. We often forget that we are to continue to grow in our fellowship with Christ through faith too… “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” (Colossians 2:6). We tend to create rules and rituals that we begin to trust to keep us close to God. We tend to neglect fellowship, replacing it with religion. Diligent disciples avoid this trap by nurturing our relationship with Christ because we know He still seeks us and longs to fellowship with us… “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14).

Dictionary.com defines religion as a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. Notice the perspective is on the persons and the beliefs and practices they adhere to or perform. Religion is about performance. Christian discipleship is about relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit inspired John to introduce this truth at the very beginning of His gospel… “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Jesus came to offer a new religion but a restored relationship with our Father… “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Our original fellowship with the Father had been broken by sin… “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Although He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and promises of the Messiah, Jesus did not come to establish a new religion. He came to abolish the religious efforts of mankind by entering into our sinful world, paying the price for our sin, and seeking our hearts with an invitation to be restored to fellowship with God through Him… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

It is interesting that Christ followers seem vulnerable to returning to the old familiar pattern of religion. Through the pen of the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit exhorted Christ followers in the Galatian church to avoid the sin of distorting the gospel with religious ritual and practice… “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). Jesus taught His disciples to seek Him through God’s word… “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39) and through prayer… “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus emphasized the foundational truth that He seeks intimate fellowship with earnest disciples by showing up and entering into the troubled lives of His fearful followers on that resurrection evening long ago.

As we grow up into Christ our faith will mature not by religion but by investing in fellowship with …

The Savior that Still Seeks Us.