I laughed out loud because at my house I am known as "Mom, Finder of Lost Things". Literally, no one despairs about something being lost until Mom gives up. But when Mom gives up, the search is over.
As I pondered that idea, I thought... "no one is really lost until their life on earth ends without Jesus."
In my human frailty, I am very quick to give up on people. I write them off as a "lost cause" and assume that God cannot work in them. Of course I know God can do anything, so I have to amend the statement to read, "God will not work in them." Except, I also know that His ways are not my ways, and His thoughts are not my thoughts. Praise the Lord!
2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. I am not patient, and if I'm honest I'm not that concerned about anyone perishing. Sometimes I want them to repent for my sake, not for God's glory. I can totally related to Jonah's attitude. But I can also see the folly of it.
According to 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But we don't always want God to forgive 'others', do we? Ever hold a grudge? Ever write someone off? Ever sit in judgment, thinking this one or that one can't be or shouldn't be saved? Ever withhold the grace that was so freely given to you?
Recently I was challenged with another devotional thought, which I have been pondering now for several days. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He had sent the disciples away so that He could work. They were shocked that Jesus would save a woman, and a Samaritan at that. Oh, and did I mention her sins were also pretty "big" by human standards? Yes, to the disciples she would have been a "lost cause" to be sure. But Jesus offered her living water.
Several other articles have come before me this week that remind me no one is really lost - Jesus leaves the 99 sheep safe in the flock to go after the one stray in danger every time. And when He finds that sheep, He brings it back to the fold, even carrying it on His shoulders if necessary.
Recently, Megan Phelps-Roper left Westboro Church. You can read the article here, but author Mohan Karulkar says: Overcoming the problem starts with accepting that no one within a group like Westboro is a lost cause. The Bible is full of examplies of unlikely people being changed and used for good, from Moses to Matthew to Paul. We must give up betrayal as the unforgivable sin and always leave the lines open for redemption. We need prayer for those we consider lost - even those lost to a distorted vision of God.
On February 26, iChoose Pregnancy Support Services will host their 5th Annual "A Love for Life" Gala. Their keynote speaker is Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood Director. Talk about redeeming a "lost cause" and displaying God's glory in the way only He can!
Or what about Rosaria Champagne Butterfield? She was a self-proclaimed leftist lesbian professor who despised Christians...until she somehow became one. You can read her "trainwreck conversion story" here.
And maybe I could even find one of those "lost cause" stories in my own mirror. Sometimes the hardest ones to reach are the ones who sit next to us in the pew every week. They have the appearance of religion, but they are playing church - and probably don't even know it. Jesus says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." (Matthew 23:27) Through the testimony of the wife of Youth Pastor candidate, I realized how wretched I was. I gave all that filthy-rags righteousness, my resounding gong and clanging symbol, my heart of stone over to Jesus. And He gave me a heart of flesh. He never gave up on me. he never labeled me a "lost cause". He sought after me, pursuing me, wooing me. And now I have the joy of falling in love with Jesus more and more every day. I am not lost, because my Jesus found me!
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