I Once Was Lost  third chapter of "More Than Amazing Grace"

written by Lonnie Melashenko

 

 

I suppose every single person on this planet has a memory of being lost.   Most of us, in our childhood, have at least one painful story in our computer data bank that we've never quite been able to delete.  One experience where we were lost.

 

I remember one experience that happened to me like it was just yesterday.  Our family was moving to California in 1964, bringing two cars across the country on the southern route across the United States.  No intercom, no maps, late at night, and we teenage boys were taking turns driving in the second car in a strange city.  Unexpectedly and all of a sudden, we were separated from the other car -- lost, no money, no maps, and no idea where the other car was.   Of course there finally did come that wonderful moment when we were safe together again, reunited with mom and dad.  We'll look later at the joy that comes from being found.  But for now let's keep our focus on that word -- lost.

 

I suppose part of the fright that goes with being lost is the inherent danger that comes with that condition.  Lost certainly goes with fear, doesn't it?  By nature, those two are linked together.  To be lost may mean to be lonely and cold.  You might be out all night by yourself.  You might be left in the woods for weeks.  Friend, you might even die.  Lost and death do often go together.

 

It seems like every other TV movie made these days deals with someone who is lost and has to tramp through four days of snow in order to find rescue.  Lostness is a universal condition.

 

Of course, where we think about the song, "Amazing Grace" and those words, "I once was lost, but now am found," we're talking about spiritual lostness.  Being in a lost condition as far as eternal life is concerned.  That's the real "being lost" that ought to concern us most of all.

 

You know, it's a funny thing.  We discussed earlier that being saved from drowining seems a lot more important to us than being saved for heaven.  And here we find the same experience.  Being lost in the woods is absolutely terrifying, but being spiritually lost raises hardly a flicker of concern for most people.

 

It's safe to say that a person can be lost and not realize it.   Have you ever experienced that?  Have you ever driven blithely fifty miles down the wrong road with no idea that you were totally lost?

 

The same thing is true in the spiritual realm, isn't it?  A person can be lost and have no idea of that fact.  Millions of people haven't been near a map for so long that they just don't know they are lost.  So, of course, there's no fear.  No sensation of danger.

 

If you have no destination, no place to go -- if eternity with God isn't your goal -- then lost becomes an empty word.  Do you recall this meaningful bit of exchange from the book, Alice in Wonderland?

 

        "Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from

         here?"  "That depends a good deal on where you want to

         get to," said the Cat.  "I don't much care where,' said Alice.

         "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat."

 

That's a chilling statement, isn't it?  to experience the kind of lostness where you don't even care.

 

In the spiritual world, though, it's equally true that you can know exactly where you are right now -- and still be lost.  You might be reading this while sitting on the beach in Florida.  You know exactly where you are, and still you're a lost person.

 

You might be a housewife or a construction worker having lunch in Dallas reading these words during your break. You know where you are.  You know your location.  And you're lost.

 

But you know something?  There's good news. The Bible is full of good news for those who are lost.

 

First of all, the lost can be found!  The song,"Amazing Grace" tells us that.   The gift of grace was created specifically for those who are lost.

 

Friend, when they play "Amazing Grace," they're playing our song. Because God loves those who are lost; He gave His Son to die for those who are lost.

 

So many of Christ's stories have to do with something that was lost.  The Shepherd who goes to look for His lost sheep.  The woman who looks for the lost coin.  The loving Father who goes out each day to look for the lost son -- and rejoices when he is found.

 

Do you remember the childhood Bible story of Zacchaeus?  He was a lost little man up there in that sycamore tree.  And Jesus came looking for him.  Jesus came to save him.

 

After Zacchaeus was found, Jesus made this wonderful pronouncement, this unforgettable mission statement:  "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."  (Luke 19:10).

 

Those who are lost are Jesus' target audience.  They're the focus of His efforts, the prize He seeks to reclaim.  If you are lost right now, He is looking for you.

 

Those who are lost are Jesus' target audience.  They're the focus of His efforts, the prize He seeks to reclaim.  If you are lost right now, He is looking for you.

 

And there is more good news.  You may be lost now, but it's possible to be found.  You might be on the wrong road at this very moment, but there is a right road.  And you can quickly get to there from where you are right now.  There's an off-ramp coming up just ahead!

 

The Great Christian writer C.S. Lewis wrote in his classic book, Mere Christianity. 

 

        the place where you want to be.  And if you have taken a

        wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any

        nearer.  If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing

        an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that

        case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive

        man."

 

And then he adds this:  "We are on the wrong road.  And if that is so, we must go back.  Going back is the quickest way on."

 

"Amazing Grace"  tells us that being lost is a temporary condition for those who ask for help.  Someone very loving is looking for you right now.