Hope for the Lost

“Lord, forgive me for looking with contempt on those who sin differently than I do.” Jesus, doctor to the sin-sick soul, came to call those who haven’t masked their condition with the stimulating drug of self-righteousness; he calls those who feel the pain of their need. Does the Jesus we know move comfortably among the cesspools of life? Mother Theresa knew this Jesus. For nearly fifty years she nursed the destitute and handed out hope and companionship to society’s throwaways. No one was too dirty for her touch, and no one is too dirty for the touch of our Lord. May we carry this attitude as well.

Sheep have a tendency to wander into lostness. They aren’t running from the shepherd, they are simply distracted. This is one type of “lost”. We are like sheep. We stray. We wander looking for greener fields, following alluring scents, drawn away by our curiosity. The danger with this type of lostness is that we don’t recognize when we’ve drifted into it. But we have an assurance. God will not leave us to a lifetime of lostness. He is the God who pursues, who follows hard after us. He’s not too busy tending the rest of the flock. He’s not too busy for you. His little lost ones may have wandered, but they are always close to his heart.

Have you ever felt the horror (and embarrassment) of leaving a child behind somewhere? My wife and I have. Our fourth child, Grace, was with us at the mall with our four other children. We moved on from where we were sitting; she didn’t. The moment we realized she wasn’t with us felt like a black hole sucking time and hope into it. We had lost our daughter. It wasn’t her fault; it just happened to her. We tracked back over our path and found her. Relief rushed in like a breaking dam when we saw her. You may have felt what our daughter felt that day: life brings circumstances that can confuse and distance us from God. We can feel left behind, a victim of our situation. But God seeks us and finds us in our lost state. We simply need to embrace his embrace.

Have you ever noticed that the request for forgiveness of our debts in the “Our Father” is towards the end of the prayer? Perhaps God wants us to garner a lesson from this. He celebrates reconciliation. Restored souls make him glad. The prodigal son left his home and squandered the fruit of his father’s labors. This was not a wandering from the nest. This child was not a victim of outside circumstances. This was outright rebellion - “I want what I want, and I want it now.” The son walked away. Yet the father waited, and the son returned. I’ve felt the pain of a loved one lost in this way. Have you? What do you pray in this situation? I know what I’ve prayed; “Father, bring them to their senses.” I’ve seen that prayer answered. It’s never easy to watch someone you love wallow in the pigsties of life, but the joy of their return starts a party in heaven greater than can be imagined.

In God’s kingdom, the road from lost to restored is paved with gentleness and persistence. On this way, the truth is not compromised nor used as a noose; it is spoken in love. God is our teacher, instructing us with tenderness and lifting us with humility. The kingdom of this world indoctrinates and threatens; our Father God draws and welcomes. What breaks you? What dims your excitement and lessens your passion? Life doles out difficulty; and dealt enough of it, we break, we smolder. But Jesus offers to heal us. Completely. Just ask the man in Mark 3 with a withered hand. Unable to work, strength sapped from his fingers, Jesus reversed his condition. Let him restore your withered heart. And while he’s at it, let him use you to lift and light the broken around you.