Word Count: 863

Contact Jerry Ousley

Lost in Every Way

by Jerry Ousley  
5/20/2011 / Christian Living

It happened when our children were younger. Jeremy was around twelve or thirteen and Megan would have been six or seven. We had been invited to our company picnic that was being held in a large park near Columbus Indiana. Debbie had to work that day so I took the kids and we had a great time.

When it was time to leave the decision was made to take a shortcut I had known as a child. This shortcut would save five miles or so and would take us right through the heart of Elizabethtown, a small hamlet in which it would seem impossible to get lost.

It was a cloudy day so I couldn't see the sun. Normally when I get turned around I can look at the position of the sun and at least get an idea in which direction I'm going, but not today. I knew that you entered the town from one end, made a half loop around the square and then on to the highway that would take us home. But somehow I got twisted going around that loop and headed out into the country. I knew that the road I was supposed to take wasn't a gravel road so when the one on which I was traveling turned to gravel I knew I had taken a wrong turn. I headed back the way I had come and once again found myself in Elizabethtown. To make a long story short I finally found the way we had come in and wound up traveling the extra five miles or so, plus the miles I had driven trying to get back to the town. I sure wish they had a GPS back then; I could have used it that day.

I remember feeling embarrassed after the ordeal was over but I also remember the helpless, hopeless feeling while I was lost. Did you know that mankind, without Christ is lost in every way? Yes, we are heedlessly lost, helplessly lost and willfully lost. A situation arose in Luke 5:1-2. It says "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.'" That seems like a contradiction doesn't it? I mean, the Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day and should have been concerned with making believers out of those tax collectors and sinners. Instead they judged Jesus for being with them. I've been in a few churches in our own day that seemed to look way down their noses at those who were considered sinners. But sinners us are those who Jesus wants to save. He spent more of His time with them than with those who were religious. That was because He wanted to save those who were lost. That encounter with the Pharisees inspired three parables found in Luke 15.

The first was about the lost sheep. The shepherd had one hundred sheep. One day he counted only ninety-nine, meaning that one had wandered off and was lost. He left all the others and took the time to find that one sheep, then carefully brought it back to the fold. This parable represents us as being heedlessly lost. Man has wandered off from God perhaps not even realizing that he is lost. Thanks be to our Lord that He cares enough to come and find us.

The second parable was the story about the lost coin. The woman needed that coin. When she couldn't find it we are told that she nearly turned her house upside-down until she found it. The coin was helplessly lost. It couldn't do anything itself to be found; nor can we. We are also helplessly lost because even if we realize our predicament there is nothing we can do to change our helpless situation. But Jesus came to be our redeemer. He paid the price needed to bring us out of our helpless condition and find us for Himself.

The third parable was that of the prodigal son. He willfully left his father's household with his share of the inheritance. He spent it all on riotous living and vain things. When it was gone he couldn't even afford to feed himself and one day he woke up eating the husks he was feeding to the hogs. He realized his condition, arose and determined that if he could just be a servant in his father's household that he'd be better off than he was now. But when he returned, expecting to grovel at his father's feet, he instead was met by a loving father with open arms welcoming his son back home. He had been willfully lost but now he was found.

God wants to find us in our heedless condition. He wants to help us out of our helpless condition. And He welcomes us in our willful condition. Without Christ all are lost. But you can be found, right now, today. Just go to the Father who stands with open arms. No matter what you may have done, He will take you in and you'll no longer be lost in every way.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Jerry Ousley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer