人子来，为要寻找、拯救失丧的人。-路加福音19章10节

A few years ago, a friend of mine lost track of her young son while walking through a swarm of people at Union Station in Chicago. Needless to say, it was a terrifying experience. Frantically, she yelled his name and ran back up the escalator, retracing her steps in an effort to find her little boy. The minutes of separation seemed like hours, until suddenly—thankfully—her son emerged from the crowd and ran to the safety of her arms.

几年前，我有个朋友在乘客熙来攘往的芝加哥联合车站里，跟她年幼的儿子走散了。这实在是个可怕的经历。朋友发狂似地喊着儿子的名字，跑回刚走过的电扶梯，在原路上努力找回她的小孩。她与孩子分开不过几分钟，但却觉得像经过了好几个小时一样。感谢主，最后她儿子突然从人群中冲出来，奔向她的怀抱。

Thinking of my friend who would have done anything to find her child fills me with a renewed sense of gratitude for the amazing work God did to save us. From the time God’s first image-bearers—Adam and Eve—wandered off in sin, He lamented the loss of fellowship with His people. He went to great lengths to restore the relationship by sending His one and only Son “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Without the birth of Jesus, and without His willingness to die to pay the price for our sin and to bring us to God, we would have nothing to celebrate at Christmastime.

想到我的朋友愿意不惜一切，只为了找到她的小孩，让我再次以感恩之心，重思上帝为了拯救我们所做的奇妙大工。上帝以祂的形象创造了亚当和夏娃，当他们因犯罪而远离上帝之后，上帝因失去与祂子民的亲密连结而忧伤。上帝为了恢复我们与祂之间的关系，毫不顾惜地差祂的独生子来，“为要寻找、拯救失丧的人”（路加福音19章10节）。若没有耶稣的降生，没有祂愿意为了我们的罪受死，没有祂把我们带到上帝面前，我们在圣诞节期间就没有什么好庆祝的。

So this Christmas, let’s be thankful that God took extreme measures by sending Jesus to reclaim our fellowship with Him. Although we once were lost, because of Jesus we have been found!

所以，这个圣诞节，让我们感谢上帝愿意不惜一切，差耶稣来恢复我们与祂之间亲密的关系。虽然我们曾经迷失，但因着耶稣，我们已被寻回。

Heavenly Father, in the midst of all the joy of Christmas, remind me that the true meaning of this season lies in the depth of Your love. Thank You for sending Jesus to reclaim undeserving people like me!

天父，在圣诞节的欢乐气氛中，
求祢提醒我，这个节期是要记念祢深刻的爱。
谢谢祢，差遣耶稣来寻回我这样不配的人！

INSIGHT

Do you know someone who has broken hearts by turning their back on friends, family, or faith? Is that person now living as someone who has lost their way?

Consider Zacchaeus. Though Jewish, he was no friend of Israel. Working for the Roman occupation he collected taxes from his countrymen and lived off the wealth of his overcharges. Who wouldn’t resent someone who loved money more than family, country, or neighbor?

That’s why Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus. He wasn’t just trying to see over the religious crowd that had their reasons for hating him. He was a lost child of Israel and maybe the most unlikely person in Jericho to be given special notice and honor.

That was the day God chose Zacchaeus to show us, or maybe those who are hiding from us, that no one is too lost to be found and changed by Jesus.

灵粮透视

是否有人因为背叛了朋友、家人或信仰而使别人心碎呢？这人的生活是否就像一个迷失的人呢？

不妨试想一下撒该，虽然他是犹太人，但他不是以色列百姓的朋友。他为罗马人工作，从同胞那里收取税款，并因多收税金而享受富裕的生活。这个人贪爱钱财过于爱自己的家人、国家和邻居，这样的人有谁不痛恨呢？

正因如此，撒该爬到树上去看耶稣。他不只是想避开那些有理由恨恶他的虔诚大众，他是以色列的失丧之子，在耶利哥，他绝不可能受到特别的关注和尊重。

但上帝那天拣选了撒该！这向我们表明，或者也向那些躲避我们的人表明，没有任何一个迷失的人是无法被耶稣寻回，无法被耶稣改变的。

整理：于姊妹