Articles
Seeking the Lost
Have you ever lost anything? We all have; we have even lost things important to us (i.e. car keys!). When we realize something has been lost, how do we react? That depends on the value we place on what was lost. If something lost is of little value, we may not even realize it is missing, therefore, we probably won’t search for it. Even if we do realize it is lost, our search perhaps may not be very diligent. On the other hand, if we lose something of great value to us, we immediately realize it is missing and search with great diligence until it is found.
In Luke 15:8-9 we read a parable about woman who lost something of value to her: a silver coin. Although she still had nine others, she placed great value on all ten of them. In this situation her attention and efforts were directed towards the one that was lost. The urgency of her situation is clearly stated in verse 8: “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” Obviously, she placed great value on that one lost coin. A lesson here is that upon realizing something of great value is lost, we should “seek diligently until [we] find it.” How much value do we place on the souls of others? Our souls are the most valuable possessions we have, and they were given to us by our God, who made us in His image (Gen. 1:27). The conclusion we must draw is that we should place as much value on a lost soul as God does. John 3:16 perhaps best demonstrates the worth of a soul to God, in that "He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Also, Matthew 20:28 shows the value of a soul to Jesus Christ when he states that the Son of Man came "to give his life a ransom for many." Who do we know who is in a lost condition right now? Are we seeking their soul with diligence? Jesus gave the command to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15). Not only did the good shepherd seek those who are outside his fold (John 10:16), he desires to save and protect those within his fold as well (Eph. 5:25-27). Because members of the body of Christ may become lost due to uncorrected sin in their lives, seeking the lost must take place both within the church and without.
Look again at the steps this woman took in searching for her lost coin: she lit a lamp and swept her house, seeking diligently until the coin was found. Do we take these steps when searching for lost souls? We must rely on the light of God’s word to bring souls back. The Psalmist realized that God’s word “is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (119:105). Reliance on and trust in the guiding power of God’s word is necessary in order to safely search for and bring back the lost. Turn on that light! It is essential that we study and know the word of truth so we can rightly handle it (2 Tim. 2:15) and use that word to bring souls to God. The woman in this parable also swept her house while looking. She cleaned and put things in order. Matthew 7:1-5 warns that we must first clean ourselves up before we can effectively and safely bring back the lost. After lighting the lamp and cleaning up her house, she searched diligently. Seeking the lost is not a part-time activity. It requires applied effort and can be difficult and discouraging.
Although seeking the lost can physically and emotionally drain us, finding what once was lost brings about a joyful reaction. Verse 9 shows the woman’s reaction upon finding her lost coin: “...she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’” Jesus brings to light another truth in verse 10 when he says, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This powerful verse teaches us that God places great value on the lost. The phrase “just so” is a connector phrase. The woman had found her lost coin and was rejoicing; “just so,” God rejoices when one lost sinner is found. This reaction demonstrates the great value of the lost, and the great joy of finding it. Do we rejoice greatly when a lost soul has been recovered? The return of a lost brother or sister in Christ should be one of the most joyous occasions to us. Often times our attitudes towards the lost may be improper. Do we sincerely rejoice, showing the love and care we should?
The need to search for the lost is never-ending. There will always be those who have never come to the Lord, and there will always be some who stray away from Him. Our charge is to seek them. We must place great value on lost souls, diligently search for them, and sincerely rejoice with the Lord when the lost are found. Let us take this responsibility seriously and each work our hardest to bring the lost to Christ!
