Something Can’t Be Found Until It’s Lost

Have you ever gone to a lost and found? It probably wasn’t to marvel at the variety of things people manage to lose. In almost every case we go to a lost and found – whether at work, a restaurant, a movie theater, or somewhere else we’ve been recently – seeking something of value that we’ve left behind. 

That happened to me some time ago. I’d been to a worship service at our church and on the way home realized I’d forgotten, of all things, my Bible. Since it’s not my only Bible I didn’t rush back to church the same day, but the following Sunday I did ask where the lost and found was to see if it was there.

I was amazed at the number of Bibles that were there, waiting to be reclaimed. After a brief search I found my own Bible and haven’t misplaced it since. As for the other Bibles, either their owners hadn’t yet realized they were lost, they forgot where they had left them, or sadly, didn’t care.

 

My intent isn’t to judge those who haven’t diligently searched for their missing Bibles. Maybe some were left by visitors from out of town and returning just to check out our church’s lost and found wasn’t practical for them. But going there demonstrated a basic truth: Things can’t be found until we realize they’re lost.

 

This is eminently true in a spiritual sense. A good friend of mine, a truly gifted evangelist, often said, “People can’t be saved until they realize they’re lost.” That is, if they’re perfectly content with their lives as they are and don’t recognize they’re lost and in need for a Savior, it’s hard for them to understand they need to be found.

 

Jesus Christ explained this in one of His best-known parables, the one about a young man commonly known as the prodigal son.

 

As the story went, a wealthy man had two sons. The younger one grew impatient waiting for his father to die, so he demanded his share of the inheritance right then. Jesus didn’t say what might have been going through the father’s mind, but he agreed to divide the estate equally between the two sons.

 

The greedy son, having no sense of his moral and spiritual lostness, figured he had it made. “Not long after that, the youngest songot together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need” (Luke 15:13-14).

 

Up to that point, if someone had told the son he was lost, he would have laughed hysterically. He might have responded, ‘Me, lost? You’re joking! I’ve got it made. I have everything I’ll ever need!’ Until he didn’t.

 

Desperate, this young fellow who hadn’t known he was lost hired himself out to slop pigs. Presuming he was a Jew, this very non-kosher job would have been the ultimate disgrace. Finally, beyond desperation, he decided to return home, grovel before his father, and offer himself to be one of the servants. 

 

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of the hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father’” (Luke 15:17-20).

 

Suddenly, this self-assured young man, who had no idea of how badly he had lost his way, was going home, head down in humiliation and remorse. He’d finally recognized his lostness.

 

The parable closes not with a father’s angry rebuke and condemnation, but with a joyful, ‘Welcome home!’ Seeing his prodigal son in the distance, the father rushed to him, embraced him, and then called for a festive party. “The father said to his servants, Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet…. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Luke 15:22-24).

 

I believe Jesus told this story to His followers to illustrate how our heavenly Father responds when people realize how completely lost they are and in repentance, turn to Him to become found.

 

One of the best-known hymns is “Amazing Grace,” written by one-time slave trader John Newton more than 250 years ago. Its message resonates just as strongly today. In this musical testimony of his spiritual rebirth, Newton made this declaration: “I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see.” As the friend I mentioned earlier observed, he had to get lost before he could let himself be found – by God.

 

Do you have a non-believing friend or family member you’ve been praying for, perhaps for a very long time? Pray that they’ll get lost – realize their spiritual lostness and bankruptcy and surrender to be found by the God whose love, grace and mercy have no limit. The apostle Paul, once very lost in his religious zeal, put it this way: “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

It’s Not ‘Do.’ It’s Not ‘Don’t.’ It’s Done.

Despite the prevailing story line of our secularized society, humankind is hopelessly religious. Or at least intrinsically spiritual. There’s something within most of us that screams out, “This can’t be all there is! There’s got to be something more, something beyond all of this!”

In fact, the Bible asserts, “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). There in one sentence we have two basic truths: The vast majority of people all around the world will agree with the suspicion that this life can’t be all there is. But since we can’t comprehend what God has done, how He has done it, or why, we resort to a construct we call religion.

 

And consistent with the modern mantra, “I have my truth,” there’s a smorgasbord of religions to suit just about every taste, style and preference. Many folks reject the idea that one size fits all, so humankind has developed many belief systems, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and a host of others.

 

I intentionally omitted Christianity from this list because on several points it differs from all other belief systems, major or minor. We could delve into those, but that’s the domain of theologians far more astute than me. So, I’ll focus instead on perhaps the most profound, yet simplest, difference.

 

For lots of people, the fundamental teaching of religion can be summed up in the word, “Do.” You have to do this, or that, or these things, to be accepted by God and be rewarded with some kind of life after death. What these “do’s” actually are depends largely upon which religion you select.

 

Others believe the fundamental religious instruction centers around the word, “Don’t.” These consist of the things we shouldn’t do, whether it’s murder, stealing, lying, or even enjoying the material pleasures of everyday living. To experience life beyond this one, various religions dictate stuff you shouldn’t do.

 

Yes, in the Bible we have both “do’s” and “don’ts.” The Ten Commandments come immediately to mind. But at its essence, Christianity isn’t about deeds – or misdeeds. It’s about one thing. Actually, one person: Jesus Christ and what He has already done, for everyone willing to receive the priceless, undeserved gift that He offers: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 

 

Think about it – when Jesus willingly surrendered His life on a cross outside of Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago, how many sins had you committed? That’s right, none. Zero. Zilch. So, from God’s perspective all the sins we’re guilty of – and every sin we will ever commit – have already been atoned for. 

 

With one caveat: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). We must each be willing to receive this gift He offers.

 

What about the do’s and don’ts? Isn’t it necessary to demonstrate that we’re deserving of God’s love and acceptance, His mercy and grace? Nope: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

Another verse, Titus 3:5, underscores this biblical truth: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

 

What about things we do, things we say, things we think about? Don’t they matter? Yes, certainly they do. However, God desires them to be our response to what He’s already done for us. We can’t earn His favor, His unconditional love, but as it says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”

 

An expected reaction then, is what the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14 affirms: “For Christ’s love compels [constrains] us….” Several verses later the apostle Paul writes, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). 

 

No other religion – or belief system – offers this perspective, or worldview. Christianity doesn’t rest on what we do or don’t do. Because through Jesus Christ, what matters most has already been done – long before any of us took our first breath or caught the first glimmer of sunlight. Our doing, and not doing, then becomes a natural, heartfelt response to God’s love, graciousness, and merciful forgiveness. And that, in the proverbial nutshell, is why it’s called the Gospel – the Good News.

How Would You Like to Win the Coin Flip?

Remember American football? You might recall it – that sport with the oblong ball that’s kind of pointed on both ends? Many of us watched it avidly as recently as last February’s Super Bowl, but with all that’s gone on during the unprecedented months since, it seems like a distant memory. The recent NFL draft did give fans a measure of hope that, even with social distancing, we will again watch soccer-style kickers launching footballs toward the end zone sometime in the fall.

Maybe you’re not a football fan and couldn’t care less about when it starts up again. But I mention it just to refer to the event that occurs before each game begins. No, I don’t mean when the marching band steps onto the field, or even when the national anthem is played. I’m thinking about the magic moment when the referee gathers captains from both teams for…the coin toss.

By way of review, the official has a special coin that he flips into the air. Captains from the visiting team shout “heads” or “tails,” and how the coin falls determines who kicks off and who gets the ball to begin the day’s action. We talk in terms of who “wins” the coin toss, even though it has little to do with the ultimate outcome of the game.

I bring it up because in the Scriptures we find kind of a “coin toss.” Except in this case, God is the coin flipper – and it’s win-win for all of His children.

This coin, as I envision it, says “Grace” on one side and “Mercy” on the other. Because as the Bible describes them, grace and mercy can be considered two sides of the same coin. Let me explain:

“Grace” in the Scriptures is defined as “unmerited favor.” We don’t deserve it, and we can’t earn it. Ephesians 2:8-9 explains, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” This tells us that grace is “receiving what we don’t deserve” – God’s favor.

Mercy, on the other hand, is “not receiving what we do deserve” – God’s wrath and eternal punishment. Titus 3:5 states, “[God] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” And 1 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The Lord has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He’s made us born again, brand new in Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, God’s grace and His mercy both flow out of His love for us, undeserved and unconditional. Romans 5:8 puts it this way: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Question: How many sins had you committed by the time Jesus Christ died on the cross more than 2,000 years ago? Obviously, none. Yet this verse says “while we were still sinners,” He died for us (past tense). Unlike us, God’s isn’t restricted by the confines of time, so in Christ He could pay the just penalty for all sins, past and present and future.

I don’t know about you, but this truth this excites me and provides great assurance. Many centuries ago, before my great-great-great-great-great grandparents (and beyond that) were even born, Jesus was making atonement for sins I was yet to commit. His incomprehensible love was on display, and His grace and mercy were in action so that one day I could receive what I don’t deserve, and not receive what I do deserve. How can this be anything but good, incredibly good news?

Right now, no one knows for certain when football – college or pro – will resume. But one thing we can know. All those who are part of God’s family have won the coin flip! “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).