What Does Lost Look Like?

What is lost? Someone said to me recently, "He is so lost," when speaking of someone who has strayed far from who they used to be, from who God designed them to be. And he is. He is lost to addiction. He is lost to selfishness. He is lost to arrogance. But what does that mean, exactly? A criminal record? Living on the streets? Endangering others? Failed relationships? Hurtful words said to people who are no longer around to hear him apologize? I think those are the obvious ones. What about the damage he is doing to himself? The difficulty each conviction on his record brings to finding a decent job. The toll his substance abuse is taking on his body and his mind. The bridges he has burned and the people who are no longer willing to offer him support. The pit that just continues to get deeper and deeper, making it harder to dig his way out each time he lies or steals or uses. And the pain that brings those who truly love him and care for him is, at times, excruciating. No one who has been on either side of this coin can deny, that is lost. That is the lost we pray about. That is the lost that makes prayer lists and causes others to weep. That is the lost that brings people to gratitude: "There, but for the grace of God, go I." 

But there is another "lost," a lost that doesn't often warrant interventions or end in untold grief. Call it, if you will, the lost of the elder son. In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells a story to illustrate some things about His Father, my Father 💓. He talks about a young man who demands his father give him his inheritance that he might do a better job of life than the old man. The father does as his son asks; but, the young man eventually winds up alone, in poverty, and wishing he could be so fortunate as to eat from a trough. He goes home, and his merciful father receives him gladly and blesses him in glorious celebration. The man's elder son, however, is not as thrilled. He refuses to attend the party, telling his father, "All these years I’ve slaved for you, never once refusing to do a single thing you asked. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!" That is lost, as well, my friends.

It's not just the jealousy; it's not just the entitlement. It's the illusion of having it all together. It's the idea that my car, my house, my beautiful family, my career, my position within the community, even my church is all I need to be okay. That is lost. It's not the sort of lost that will land your name on the lips of too many prayer warriors. It may not even be the sort of lost that shows up on anyone's radar in most cases, but it may just be the worst kind of lost. It's the kind of lost that appears to everyone -- the lost as well as "the found" -- as though you're doing just fine. And it's the kind of lost that moves to the back of the line when people show deep concern. No one stands around wondering, "What are we gonna do, he's so successful?" Few plead, "My son is such a loving family man. Would you please pray for him?" Who looks at the single mom bringing her two beautiful children to church every week, and thinks, "She is so lost." But these people just might be as lost as the addict or the axe murderer -- maybe more so. 

The only type of "found" there is, is the one that starts and ends with Jesus Christ. Without Him, we all are lost. It was Jesus who came to show us a life surrendered to the Father's will, who paid the greatest debt we could ever owe, and rose to guarantee His work was sufficient and our eternal life secure. Image is not everything unless we have been remade in the image of Christ. Money is an instrument we use to obey and serve. Families are a blessing and a privilege to steward for God's glory. Positions of power, spheres of influence are opportunities to make His name known to all the world. None of these will make you any less lost. In fact, if you've placed your faith squarely in the prosperity or pleasures of this world, you might be the most lost of all.

As for those of us praying for loved ones we know are lost, let's be particularly mindful of those who don't appear that way.