“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.â€
Luke19:10 (NIV)
Have you ever been lost? Being in an unfamiliar city can make me feel bewildered and even frustrated – especially if I have inaccurate directions. Both of those emotions may find their root in fear. I don’t know where I am and will I find my way back to something familiar? GPS is technology’s answer to that lost feeling. Jesus is the true answer to feeling lost that has been with me since birth. It is feeling incomplete and without peace.
I sought and followed several paths as I tried to find ‘my way’. I looked to people, both individuals like a husband and to collecting large numbers of friends that would be there for me; expecting them to know my needs and fill my needs. I looked at alcohol to anesthetize the emptiness so I wouldn’t notice that I wasn’t happy. I looked to building a career that would so define me that there would be no doubt in my mind nor in those who cluster around me that I was somebody and was worth something. I filled my life with activities thinking that if I just did enough that I wouldn’t feel alone and I would feel validated.
None of those paths led to…any where. At best they led me back to myself so that I was staring myself in the eyes and being disappointed at what I saw. At worse they led me to a dead end where no one was with me. I didn’t count as a high enough priority in anyone’s life where I was their life!
But I am a high priority to God. I am so important that He would come in the flesh to find me and save me. And the biggest shocker? He would give His life so that I could live!
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.†John 20:21 (NIV)
There it is. My reason for being: so that Jesus could ‘send me’. Jesus came, saved me, and showed me how to seek the lost and shine His light of truth so they could choose to follow Him. That permeates every aspect of my life. It is how I live with my family. It is how I shop at Wal-mart. It is how I do my bill-paying job. There is no compartmentalizing in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Oh, Father, help me to live the life of a disciple of Jesus. May I have ears to hear Your Holy Spirit guide and direct. May I seek to learn how to be more like Jesus as I read and study Your Word. May I choose to be still and listen for Your voice and obey with a glad heart. Thank You for saving me, Father. Thank You for loving me with an ever-lasting, comforting love. I love You, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
