5-Day Devotional • Encountering the Loving Gaze of Jesus
Introduction
During “connect months” we do not formally connect in community groups, but that doesn’t mean we take a break from our Christian faith. Therefore, we are offering this resource as a daily devotional throughout the week to reflect on the sermon from Sunday.
Devotional: Encountering the Loving Gaze of Jesus
Day 1: Seen and Known by God
Reading: Luke 19:1-10
Devotional: Zacchaeus climbed a tree simply hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but instead, Jesus saw him. In a crowd where Zacchaeus was invisible—despised, avoided, friendless—Jesus looked up and called him by name. This is the heart of the gospel: God sees you. Not your performance, not your reputation, but you. Before you ever sought God, He was seeking you. Today, pause and consider: Do you believe Jesus sees you with loving eyes? Practice receiving His gaze. Imagine Him looking at you not with disappointment or judgment, but with delight and invitation. You are not invisible to God. You are known, seen, and deeply loved.
Reflection Question: Where in your life do you feel unseen or overlooked? How might Jesus be looking at you differently than others do?
Day 2: The Power of Divine Welcome
Reading: John 1:35-39
Devotional: "Come and see," Jesus said to His first disciples. To Zacchaeus, He said, "I must stay at your house today." Jesus doesn't wait for us to clean up our lives before He draws near—He invites Himself in. No one came to Zacchaeus' home; he lived in social isolation because of his choices. Yet Jesus offered what Zacchaeus had never known: welcome. God's transforming love begins not with our perfection but with His presence. When Jesus enters our lives, He doesn't come as a critic but as a guest who becomes the host, making us feel at home in His love. What attachments—to money, approval, success—might loosen when you truly experience being welcomed by Christ?
Reflection Question: What would change in your life if you truly believed Jesus delights in being with you?
Day 3: Transformation Through Love, Not Law
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Devotional: Zacchaeus never attended a financial stewardship class, yet after one encounter with Jesus, he pledged half his wealth to the poor and fourfold restitution to those he'd wronged. This wasn't obligation—it was overflow. When we experience the unconditional love of Christ, our attachments shift. The things we once clung to lose their grip. Paul writes that Christ's love compels us, making us new creations. Behavior modification through guilt or duty is exhausting and temporary. But transformation rooted in love is organic and lasting. God isn't primarily interested in managing your behavior; He wants to transform your heart by deepening your attachment to Him. What might change if you focused less on trying harder and more on receiving His love more deeply?
Reflection Question: What attachment in your life might be loosened by a deeper experience of God's love?
Day 4: The Tree of Curse Becomes Our Blessing
Reading: Galatians 3:10-14
Devotional: Jesus saw Zacchaeus in a sycamore tree, but He saved him by hanging on His own tree—the cross. Scripture calls the cross "the tree of curses," where Jesus became cursed for us. This is the stunning truth: the loving gaze Jesus offers comes at infinite cost. He can look at us with acceptance and delight because He bore our shame and sin. The cross is where justice and mercy meet, where God's holiness and love embrace. We don't earn His gaze; we receive it as a gift purchased by His blood. Today, as you encounter Christ's loving eyes, remember they are eyes that have wept, suffered, and died for you. His love isn't cheap—it cost Him everything.
Reflection Question: How does knowing the cost of Christ's love deepen your appreciation for His gaze upon you?
Day 5: Becoming Conduits of Christ's Gaze
Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
Devotional: We love because He first loved us. Having received the transforming gaze of Jesus, we're now called to offer it to others. Imagine your church, your workplace, your neighborhood becoming places where people experience being truly seen with the eyes of Christ. This is the mission: sync up with God's love, then broadcast it to a broken world. Not with judgment or superiority, but with the same grace you've received. Who in your life is like Zacchaeus—isolated, judged, overlooked? Can you offer them the gift of being seen? The kingdom of God advances not through political power or cultural dominance, but through ordinary people reflecting Christ's extraordinary love. You are the router, broadcasting the signal of divine love to everyone around you.
Reflection Question: Who is one person this week you can intentionally "see" with the loving eyes of Jesus? How will you show them they matter?
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for seeing me, knowing me, and loving me. Help me to receive Your gaze more fully each day, and transform me from the inside out. Make me a conduit of Your love to a world desperate to be seen and known. Amen.