Christmas is about God taking extreme measures to reclaim those who were lost.

上帝不惜一切，尋回失喪的人，這就是聖誕的真諦。

The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.Luke 19:10

人子來，為要尋找、拯救失喪的人。-路加福音19章10節

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.

幾年前，我有個朋友在乘客熙來攘往的芝加哥聯合車站裡，跟她年幼的兒子走散了。這實在是個可怕的經歷。朋友發狂似地喊著兒子的名字，跑回剛走過的電扶梯，在原路上努力找回她的小孩。她與孩子分開不過幾分鐘，但卻覺得像經過了好幾個小時一樣。感謝主，最後她兒子突然從人群中衝出來，奔向她的懷抱。

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.

想到我的朋友願意不惜一切，只為了找到她的小孩，讓我再次以感恩之心，重思上帝為了拯救我們所做的奇妙大工。上帝以祂的形象創造了亞當和夏娃，當他們因犯罪而遠離上帝之後，上帝因失去與祂子民的親密連結而憂傷。上帝為了恢復我們與祂之間的關係，毫不顧惜地差祂的獨生子來，「為要尋找、拯救失喪的人」（路加福音19章10節）。若沒有耶穌的降生，沒有祂願意為了我們的罪受死，沒有祂把我們帶到上帝面前，我們在聖誕節期間就沒有什麼好慶祝的。

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，這個聖誕節，讓我們感謝上帝願意不惜一切，差耶穌來恢復我們與祂之間親密的關係。雖然我們曾經迷失，但因著耶穌，我們已被尋回。

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，在聖誕節的歡樂氣氛中，

求禰提醒我，這個節期是要記念禰深刻的愛。

謝謝禰，差遣耶穌來尋回我這樣不配的人！

Luke 19:1-10New International Version (NIV)

19Jesus entered Jerichoand was passing through.2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-figtree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him,「Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.」6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7All the people saw this and began to mutter, 「He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.」

8But 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.」

9Jesus said to him,「Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.」

路加福音 19:1-10

19耶穌進了耶利哥，正經過的時候，2有一個人名叫撒該，做稅吏長，是個財主，3他要看看耶穌是怎樣的人。只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看見。4就跑到前頭，爬上桑樹，要看耶穌，因為耶穌必從那裡經過。5耶穌到了那裡，抬頭一看，對他說：「撒該，快下來！今天我必住在你家裡。」6他就急忙下來，歡歡喜喜地接待耶穌。7眾人看見，都私下議論說：「他竟到罪人家裡去住宿！」8撒該站著對主說：「主啊，我把所有的一半給窮人，我若訛詐了誰，就還他四倍。」9耶穌說：「今天救恩到了這家，因為他也是亞伯拉罕的子孫。10人子來，為要尋找、拯救失喪的人。」

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.

靈糧透視

是否有人因為背叛了朋友、家人或信仰而使別人心碎呢？這人的生活是否就像一個迷失的人呢？

不妨試想一下撒該，雖然他是猶太人，但他不是以色列百姓的朋友。他為羅馬人工作，從同胞那裡收取稅款，並因多收稅金而享受富裕的生活。這個人貪愛錢財過於愛自己的家人、國家和鄰居，這樣的人有誰不痛恨呢？

正因如此，撒該爬到樹上去看耶穌。他不只是想避開那些有理由恨惡他的虔誠大眾，他是以色列的失喪之子，在耶利哥，他絕不可能受到特別的關注和尊重。

但上帝那天揀選了撒該！這向我們表明，或者也向那些躲避我們的人表明，沒有任何一個迷失的人是無法被耶穌尋回，無法被耶穌改變的。

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