“... the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.”

Luke 19:10

Our daughter was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, and loved the Nigerien culture. She gave us a large calabash, a dried gourd that Nigerien women use for storing and carrying. When the gourds age and crack, the women sew them up with natural twine and the stitched patterns make the gourds more beautiful. God’s people become beautiful, too, when, struggles, failures, and sorrows create imperfect humans. That’s when we know we need a Savior, and he is there to put us back together. Just as the calabashes continue in use, so God continues to use us. After repentance comes restoration and the joy that we are his people, equipped to serve. That’s what so many of the encounters Jesus has with people are all about: saved to serve!

Sally Beck
Williamsburg, VA

Lord, turn my life around, and give me a job to do — for you. Amen.

Reflect: How has God turned you into his person after a disappointment or failure?

Read: Luke 19:1-10 and 1 Peter 4:10