“All who wander are not lost.” It is a great bumper sticker. And it is how some push back on the Bible’s
assertion that if you aren’t in relationship with Jesus, you are lost. Many people don’t like to be seen as
lost. They say, “What do you mean I’m
lost? I’m not lost! I’m doing exactly what I want, where I want,
when I want and how I want. I’m anything
but lost! LEAVE. ME.
ALONE!”
Lost-ness
is about perspective, isn’t it? If we
see ourselves as independent, beholden to none, then wherever we choose to go
and whatever we choose to do is just fine.
But if we see ourselves as loved by Another with a purpose for living
and being greater than our personal appetites, that is another story. It is, in fact, a story Jesus told.
In the
Gospel of Luke (chapter 15), he records three of Jesus’ stories about
lost-ness. Jesus clearly sees anyone who
is not in right relationship with God as being lost. Each of the stories emphasizes that to be
lost is to not be where you belong – a sheep not with it’s flock, a coin not
with the other coins, two sons not with their family.
The story
of the two lost sons is about rebellion, humility and a loving father. The younger son expresses his rebellion
against his father externally by dishonoring the family by demanding his
inheritance, leaving the family and pursuing a life that is opposite to the
father’s values. The older son expresses
his rebellion through bitterness for being good with no apparent reward and
bitterness toward his father for showing compassion toward his brother when he
crawls back like a whipped dog with his tail between his legs. Both brothers have rejected the essence of
the father and both need to repent – only one does in the story.
It is hard
to admit being lost. Ask any wife who
has gone on a road trip with her husband!
Wife: Do you know where you are going?
Husband: Of course I know where we are going!
Wife: This doesn’t look familiar or seem right.
Husband: I’m taking a short cut.
Wife: Maybe we should ask for directions.
Husband: I’m not lost!
To admit we
are not where we should be, that we are not living out our divine purpose
requires humility. We need to experience
humiliation, which we fight to our very core.
But God is not making fun of us, he is not humiliating us. God is waiting to receive us no matter where
we have gone, what we have done, who we have been.
I don’t
like being humbled. The older I get, the
more prideful I realize I am. But I also
realize the only way to experience the life God intends is through humbly
receiving God’s love, admitting my ways are not God’s ways and allowing him to
take the lead.
How about
you? Are you where you are supposed to
be? Have you discovered God’s divine
purpose for your life and are living it out each day? If not, you are – in the words of Jesus –
lost. How low will you go before you are
humbled enough to return to God? He is
waiting to throw you a party. I hope you
come!
Peace and grace,
David
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