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Lost and Alone
Lost and Alone
I was about 5 years old when it happened. My family went out to California for the Yosemite Bible Camp. I had told my Mom I was going to the restroom near our campsite, which I had already done alone a few times during the week. It was one of those bathrooms where you could enter or exit from opposite but identical sides. I ended up exiting on the opposite side from which I entered. I remember walking up to where our campsite should have been and encountering a rather scary, older, bearded man without a shirt. Not exactly what I was expecting. I realized I must have exited the wrong side of the restroom, so I tried to make my way back to the restroom and walk through the correct side. Unfortunately, it was not that simple. There were several identical bathrooms around the campgrounds. Somehow, I had gotten myself much more turned around than I had thought. I continued to wander to where I thought my family should be, but all I was doing was getting myself more and more lost. By this point, everything was starting to sink into my little 5-year-old mind. I did not know what to do. So, I finally reached the point where I just sat down and cried, lost and alone.
Tears tracked down my face, cleaning the dirt on my cheeks that had collected from hours of playing. I desperately looked down the path I was sitting by, hoping to see someone I recognized. Eventually, a young couple came walking down that path. I did not know them. Both were kind looking and the woman was pregnant. They could tell something was wrong and asked where my parents were. I choked out that I was lost and could not find them. I remember the comforting sensation as the man immediately helped me up, lifted me into his arms and carried me. By this time, my parents were frantically searching for me. Soon this couple was able to reunite me with my parents. The sensation of finally being found was indescribable -- for both my parents and me.
Being lost and alone is extremely scary for everyone involved. It is nearly impossible not to think of all the possible dangers. For my parents, they were wondering about wild animals or an abductor. For me, I was wondering if I would ever find my parents again. When it comes to those who are spiritually lost, it is not all that different. There are, however, much more serious concerns that come to mind. There are the sins that are keeping them lost (Isaiah 59:1-2). There are those bad influences who are trapping the lost (1 Corinthians 15:33). There is the possibility of eternal punishment, if they remain lost (Matthew 25:41, 46). Being spiritually lost is without a doubt the scariest and greatest concern of this life, and most tragic of all, many people do not even realize they are lost.
Jesus made a very simple but powerful statement, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). His purpose and goal were clear, and so should ours be. The first step is to make sure we are not lost. Then, we need to help those who are.
I have a feeling many of you would have been just like that sweet couple who helped the lost, crying little boy that I was. Then why not help the lost spiritual infants in this world? It is really not that different when we boil it down. Maybe some say no, maybe some say yes, but at the end of the day at least we can say that we have tried to seek and save the lost (Matthew 28:19). --Copied
