Operation Seek and Save

The Agent: Jesus Christ. His Mission: "To seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
I have been thinking and praying about this Scripture this week and realizing it is the key to building the Church as God desires it to be built. As we grow a church from the ground up, we always try to think of new and creative ways to reach people and minister to them. Nothing wrong with creative ideas. In fact, as children of the Creator, we should be some of the most creative people in the world. Sometimes, though, it's equally effective to go back and look at past methods that have worked for the Church.
Jesus' mission and purpose is a key example. Can the mission of the Church be any more clear than stated in Luke 19:10? Many times I think we consider and focus on the saving portion of the mission. Maybe we don't realize how vital the seeking part is to the equation. How did Jesus always manage to find the hurting and the needy, in spite of the large crowds in which they were often hiding. The answer seems so obvious now: He found them because He looked for them. He sought them out. He had to seek the lost before He could save them. He had a sensitivity that led Him to people in need, even taking Him so far as Samaria to a woman all alone at a well; a woman who, because of racial tensions of the time, would not have been reached by the disciples that day. That 's the kind of sensitivity we need to reach out with in our communities. I want to be tuned in to the Spirit of God that empowers us to witness (Acts 1:8) and to the needs of those around me. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is not impossible at all. Go out to seek and save the lost, knowing that Jesus Christ already set the perfect example of how it can be done.