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

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During the late 1950’s our family lived in Hawaii where my father was stationed as an Air Force chaplain. We lived in a beautful setting in the mountains above Pearl Harbor. My friends and I spent hours exploring the sugar cane fields and tropical forest. It was all great fun until one day two of us wandered into an area that was far beyond where we had ever gone. At first it was exciting as we searched for something familiar. But before long our excitement turned to fear and panick. We were lost. We were alone. I can still remember how it felt.

 The sense of being lost is part of life in this broken, sinful world and it comes in many forms. There are people who are truly alone and cutoff from others, living lives of isolation. Many others live in the midst of family, friends and co-workers yet still feel lost and alone, adrift. Excitement and vitality in living has given way to an inner sense of isolation. 

 A few years ago one of the most popular programs on television was  entitiled, ‘Lost.’ It told the stories of a group of people who had survived a crash landing on a tropical island. I think the great popularity of the program had a lot to do with the root concept of lostness. There is a deep sense of lostness in millions of people today.  Many feel adrift in uncharted waters. Maybe you feel that way, too.

 God knows that simply being born into this world does not mean we will feel at home, in the deepest sense. For being lost and adrift is the basic spiritual condition of man and woman.  Jesus said, “I came to seek and to save the lost.”  In a real sense, this is God’s mission statement, this is why Jesus came.  You may feel lost and adrift these days for any number of reasons. But know this. The One who died on the cross for you and was raised for you always has you on His radar.  This does not mean you will never know the struggle or feel the isolation and aloneness that comes with life in a sinful world. But it does mean that through all the circumstances of living you are being held in the grip of God’s grace. You are not alone. 

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“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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