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Each week, I’ll share personal reflections from my own time with God, our Heavenly Father. On a Personal Note is where I’ll highlight takeaways and implications for walking with the Lord.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10
How many people get in their car and set their GPS on “Get Lost”? Most of the time, there’s some set destination you’re trying to get to. I think the same thing goes for our lives. I honestly don’t believe people set their life intentions on being lost. I think getting lost is a series of little steps… little actions… further and further away from the path. It’s such a gradual drift that one may not even notice how far they’ve strayed.
There was one time in 2019, I looked up and didn’t even recognize who I was and the life that I was leading. I say leading because it definitely wasn’t a Spirit-led life. From the outside looking in, my life followed the somewhat typical path, high school, college, career, etc. But along the way side step by side step, I drifted. I wasn’t outright doing bad things, but I wasn’t doing godly things either. I guess one could say, I was lost in the middle. It wasn’t until an encounter with Jesus that I looked around and realized how far left I went.
In the book of Luke, chapters 18 and 19 show two interactions between Jesus and the lost, Zacchaeus and the rich ruler. See, Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and became wealthy by taking advantage of people. He was a despised man, so despised that when Jesus picked Zacchaeus’ house to visit, the people grumbled. But something amazing happened, the encounter with Jesus caused a transformation. Zacchaeus donated half his possessions to the poor and committed to repaying those he had taken money from. The evidence of a changed lifestyle was proof of Zacchaeus’ salvation. He changed the whole trajectory of his eternal life by choosing to get on the right path. The rich ruler lived a life that obeyed the commandments, but he lacked one thing. Jesus asked the man to sell everything and follow him. The ruler became sad because he was very wealthy. Nothing about this man was inherently bad. But when faced with the decision to get on a Jesus led path, he refused.
These two examples show that even when we are lost, we have a choice. We can choose to follow Jesus or stay drifting along; looking up periodically to see how far our lives have strayed or lack awareness to realize we’re lost.
If you ever get to a point where you look around at your life and wonder, how did I get here? Let me encourage you to set your eyes and heart on Jesus. He will lead and guide you back to the right path. It’s not a quick trip back. There are some things you’ve passed through that may have to be brushed off or cleaned up… But you’ll come through it with experiences to help the next believer stay on course.
After we encounter Jesus, we have a choice to change our actions and shift our lifestyle to display his teachings. May you encounter Jesus like never before this Advent season. May He shift your perspectives such that you begin to radically live for Him. May you begin to live a life of renewed sense of what it means to steward well. May you realize the power of prioritizing God first and allowing the rest to follow.
As we study the word of God, we should walk away with practical steps for our life. My takeaway is that we are never lost when we are actively following Jesus.
What about you? What’s your takeaway? How will you walk it out in your daily life?
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The passage illustrates the importance of being a beacon of light in dim, dark places, as guided by Luke 11:33-36. One must not let comfort lead to dulled awareness, but instead consciously illuminate one’s environment. It urges self-reflection on how one’s personal light can lead others towards embracing Jesus.
The Lord’s Prayer 11 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone
The Beatitudes 20 And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your
I have been lost a time or two. Usually, because I got distracted and wandered off the intended path. Whatever sparked my interest was enough to cause me to lose sight of my intended destination. In this passage, we find Jesus as a child, so focused on His Father’s business that he wanders off from his parents. In my own life, I’ve found that I’m not prone to wander towards my father’s business….but away from it.
If you or someone close to you is in need, we would be honored to lift you up in prayer. We believe in the power of prayer to bring peace, comfort, and reassurance during times of hardship. Our community is ready to join together and pray as we trust in God’s love and unending grace.
