I loved my dad.
As my grandmother used to say, “Better than Peter loved the Lord!
But he was, undoubtedly, one of the worse drivers in the world. He is remembered for saying (and believing and practicing) things like, “The yellow light means hurry up ’cause the red light is coming,” and “The sign means STOP – if you see something coming.” He would leave home late every morning then speed like a race car driver trying to get to work on time. He’d pass cars, trucks, school buses…, you name it. He’d pass in a no passing zone and pass two, three or four vehicles at a time. He was notorious for driving on fumes and for leaving my mom’s car with an empty tank. He never wanted to ask for instructions and frequently took a more “scenic route” to places – His term for being lost. And even though he drove on fumes, when taking that scenic route he’d say, “You’re not lost if you still have gas.”
Call it what he wanted, he was often lost.
There are a lot of lost people in the world. They don’t want to call it that either.
But if you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior, you are lost. (John 3:36, Mark 16:16 ESV)
When someone is lost, they need help. They need direction. They need someone who knows the way and who can and will share that way.
I’ve been lost. I remember driving a group of colleagues to a conference. We went to what was then a large city for us. These were pre-GPS and pre-cell phone days. Attempting to travel from the hotel to a restaurant and back, we got lost. We drove for hours, and the distance between the hotel and restaurant was less than 10 miles! We tried to find someone to help us, but there wasn’t a cop in site, which was probably good since at one point they told me to back up (on the Interstate), and I did. We had missed an exit! What we did find were people who didn’t know how to give directions!
Some people don’t realize they’re lost. Others, like my dad, deny it. As Christians, we are called to the lost – to find them, to seek them out, to show them the way! That’s our greatest charge and our greatest challenge, to be witnesses to the lost. Matthew 28:19-20a (CEB) makes it clear: “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you…”
When is the last time you showed someone the way to Christ? When is the last time you were His witness? Can’t remember? That’s a problem. Never? That’s an even bigger problem? Don’t think it’s your job? Whoa, that’s like a whole other category – way beyond “problem!” Read Matthew again; pick any translation you like. They all read, “Go!” None say, “Go, if you like” or “Go, when you feel up to it.” You won’t find one that tells you to “Go, when you get the time or at your convenience.” I didn’t check them all, but I looked at several – English Standard, New King James, Amplified, The Message, American Standard, Common English, New Life, New American Standard, Revised Standard Version Catholic and New Living. They all read, “Go.”
Go.
This week. Today. Now.
Go.
Tomorrow. The next day. The day after that.
Go.
Not one time. Not every now and then. Not only at Easter or Christmas.
Go.
Consistently. Courageously. In the Name and under the authority and power of Christ.
Go.
Someone is lost, and they need YOU!
RESOURCES
Touch One Life in 2015: http://billygraham.org/landingpages/touch-one-life/
FULLY ALIVE! 