Urgency for the Lost

In the past few days, I’ve been praying over lost people that are thousands of miles away from me, that they would be found. In Tennessee, it’s a toddler that wandered off from his family and the whole community is searching for him. On the “other side” of me, over in Burkina Faso, an American missionary was missing after a terrorist attack (and was later found among the dead), and a very much-loved Australian missionary couple was kidnapped by terrorists. I have urgently prayed for them all to be found in good health. At the same time I’ve been keeping up with the news of these lost ones, and praying for them, I’ve been reading through the gospels. The other day I was reading Luke 15. If you don’t know this chapter, this is the one that has the 3 parables Jesus told about lost being found (a sheep, a coin, and a son).

God has a way of taking what I’m reading and my circumstances, and help me to learn a lesson from them. It’s almost like he makes my circumstances like one of the parables Jesus taught to really drive a point home that I need to take to heart. As I reflected on the scriptures and the lost people I was urgently praying about, I was convicted. Am I just as urgent to pray and seek out the lost just as the shepherd was his lost sheep… as the woman was her lost coin… and as the loving father was his lost son? I could only come to one conclusion: no, I’m not.

I have experienced having a lost son. Many years ago, when my son was two years old, my husband was carjacked and the carjackers drove off with my precious little blonde-haired boy strapped in his carseat. Because my husband was a two hour drive away (and he now had no vehicle), he had to call me and tell me over the phone that our son was lost… and not only that, he was in the hands of violent men that had shot my husband for our vehicle. I cannot describe for you the terror that hit me in that moment. Thankfully, in the next moment, God graced me with His Presence and His Peace that passes all understanding. But, even with that peace He gave me, for the next few hours, I prayed with urgency that our little boy would be found and that he would not be harmed. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending and God did answer my fervent prayers: our son was found and he didn’t have a mark on him. The carjackers abandoned him in a village about 45 minutes away from where he was taken, nice people found him, and my husband was able to go with colleagues and pick him up. He is now a 6’4” nearly 18-year-old young man (in just a few days) and will finish high school in just a few months. I am so very thankful for God’s grace to us, that our lost son was found, and that we didn’t have to wait days, only a matter of hours.

I have a pretty keen understanding about lostness. I have lived and worked among unreached people groups for nearly 20 years. When I first came out, I worked and prayed with a sense of urgency, to tell one more person, cry out for one more to understand, pray with one more that needs to know that Jesus loves them and is seeking to save them. Maybe I’m tired, or too busy, or…. no, these are lame excuses. If I had the same sense of urgency to find my lost son when seeking the lost whom God loves so deeply that He sent His own Son, Jesus to die for them, I would put everything else aside. Nothing else would matter. All that would matter would be seeking out that lost one, drawing them in love, and binding up their wounds with the balm of His redemption.

I remember the shudder that shook my body when I saw my son who had been lost. When I lifted him up and held his small body to mine, tears of joy flowed from my cheeks down to his. That is just a small taste of the joy that God has when a lost person is found. I imagine that when the Australian couple and the toddler are found, there will be great rejoicing, but especially for those who are closest to them and love them most. No one could love a lost person more than God loves him.

The parables give just a little picture:

The shepherd and his found sheep: And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

The woman and her found coin: And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

The Father and his found son: But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Father God, please renew that sense of urgency in my heart. Rekindle the fire and give me the compassion that you have for the multitudes that have yet to be found by you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for gently and lovingly reminding me. And, thank you, Jesus, that I am counted among the ones who have been found.