Daily Affirmations - Day 5 - According to the Word of the Lord - Ambassadors of Grace

Day 5: Ambassadors of grace

Our ministry from the Lord Jesus is to tell the good news of God's undeserved grace

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8).

Lord Jesus, You are holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens (Hebrews 7:26). You alone are qualified to judge. And yet You, holy, blameless, exalted Son of God, the Word who was in the beginning with God, the Word [who] was God (John 1:1), came to dwell with sinful humanity, and to live among us in close, personal contact.

With hindsight, the apostle John marveled greatly at this, astounded that he and his companions were drawn into such a level of intimacy with Deity: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life (1John 1:1).

In their world, and in ours, no one has ever encountered love and grace that stooped so far. In fact, those so used to human protocols of status and distancing were scandalized that You were going to be the guest of a sinner, Zacchaeus, and they complained and grumbled that You were taking up lodging with a sinful man (Luke 19:7 DLNT).

But You offered a simple response that declared Your sweeping and inclusive love for lost humanity: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). And where a disapproving crowd saw only a tax collector, a swindler, and a cheat, You saw in Zacchaeus a son of Abraham (Luke 19:9).

You saw a son of the covenant promise— the promise God had sworn to Abraham: All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring (Genesis 28:14, Hebrews 6:13). And so, according to the word of the Lord, You spoke Your forgiveness over this despised tax collector, "Today salvation has come to this house..." (Luke 19:9).

Jesus, You show us what true grace looks like— a grace that transcends labels, reputations, acrimony, unforgiveness and condemnation. You have made us ambassadors of this grace. But often we apply our own social measures and perceptions of sin, and forget that You graciously take up lodging with all who invite You in, though all have sinned and fall short of Your glory (Romans 3:23) and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

And You show us the transformative power of Your love and grace. Out of their overflow comes genuine repentance and restitution, such as no judgment, hatred, or condemnation could produce (Luke 19:8). What a lesson for our world!

Today Lord, help us to love with the love of those who have been forgiven much (Luke 7:47). Help us not to be so intent on preserving and defending human protocols of status and distancing— boundaries around greater and lesser, countries and clans, parties and sects— that we shun, overlook, ignore, or neglect the lost and hopeless You came to save.

Click here to read the main devotional theme