Heart Tracks - Lost And Found

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

In no way do I wish to come across as some kind of "martyr," yet I think I can say with some knowledge that I know a bit about loss. I've suffered a lot of it through my life, even in that great part where I have walked with Him. In those losses, the reality and depth of meaning in Luke 19:10 have held deep impact, and deep blessing. I have learned that what Jesus speaks here, is so much more than we think. This verse is a portrait of who He is, what He does, and how He ministers. This life, for all of us, will contain loss....a lot of it. Loss through death, divorce, tragedies of all kinds. It will involve the inevitable losses for all of us, as well as the unexpected for all of us. Pain and sorrow will almost always be the companions of our losses. It is here that He who came to seek and save that which has been lost ministers most effectively.

If we think the meaning here is that Jesus Christ will bring back to us everything in this life that has been lost, we misunderstand His words. In most cases, those lost through death will not be returned to us....this side of eternity. Sadly, though He can restore the most broken of relationships, personal sin prevents that from happening. Ugly divorces happen. Once rich relationships are broken and never heal. Our sense of loss in all of these and many more is intense. Seemingly beyond our ability to bear, and they are, were it not for His gracious love which offers to bear the pain of those losses with and for us. So how, if this is so, is Christ the One who seeks and saves that which has been lost? I think I can speak, at least a bit, to that.

It is not so much the tangible things and people we've lost that Christ seeks, saves, and restores, though He has done, and continues to do so. No, it is the deeper, even greater things that can be lost alongside those with which He does do so. Lost hope. Lost future. Lost past and lost present. Lost desire to go on, and lost belief that life can ever be good again. Indeed, lost life itself. We can slip into an existence mode, living like robots, feeling little, experiencing little, and living even less. It is here where the greatness of His ministry takes place....if we'll have it.

I know what it is to live in the presence of loss, with the belief that all those above hopes, desires, and life were gone. I also know what it is to have Him enter into all that has been lost and begin His work of restoration, from the inside out. I know what it is for Him to come and "restore all the years which the locusts have eaten." I know what it is to be living in the midst of hopelessness and despair and yet have Him restore to me His hope. A hope that will not disappoint. I know this not because of anything superior in me, but that which is infinitely good and mighty in Him. He sought and saved one who thought all was lost, but wasn't. In Him, if we'll trust, believe, and obey, we will see Him, and experience Him to be true to His words.....every time. He seeks, saves, and restores, and His ways of doing so are infinite.

We read Luke 19:10 and think He speaks only of saving lost souls. He does, but He does so not only for and in eternity, but here today, right now. If you're living in the midst of the suffering of your losses, can you, will you believe this? May that which has been lost to you....be found and restored. This is what He came to do. Allow Him to do so with you.

Blessings,
Pastor O