I’m known for many things, but a good sense of direction is not one of them! I quickly carved out a reputation in Seoul for losing my way. Early on, someone urged me to “drop a point” on my phone. I told them I couldn’t afford to drop anything on my phone, fragile as it was.
Suffice it to say, being lost was an ongoing experience during my years in this city of 14 million. (24 million in greater Seoul)
A few posts back, I described some words and terms that have particular meanings for Evangelical Christians. The word, lost, was one of them. Usually, the word, lost on the lips of someone in the church, refers ultimately to a person’s eternal destiny. To be saved is to be on the way to heaven. To be lost is to be headed for hell.
But the truth is, as accurate as that may be, it is a narrow understanding of what the Bible teaches to be lost. To be lost is not to know where we’re going or how we’re going to get there. To be lost implies wandering aimlessly. I got lost in some deep woods a few years back. It was a cloudy, starless, moonless night. Pitch black. Coyotes were howling; critters were making sounds as they scurried through the leaves on the forest floor. I don’t mind saying I was afraid. By God’s grace, I found my way out.
That’s how it is for those who have never experienced the grace of God through Jesus Christ, His Son. They are lost. And I think one of the greatest signs of being lost is being afraid.
That brings me to my point in this post - this world in which we live is lost.
I’ve been keeping up with some of the mid-term election results in the United States. Sort of.
I’m not naive. Or blind. And I know that there are some important issues in our country and world. At the same time, I have come to the place in my life where I know that the leaders in our world - whatever their philosophies and policies may be - are lost. One has simply to look at our nation and world to realize this is true.
Things are falling apart. What’s more - and this is vital for us to understand - things have always been falling apart. Even the “good ole days” were not as good as we like to think.
The earth reels like a drunkard, Isaiah tells us; it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls - never to rise again. (Is. 24:20)
There is no world leader, no economic policy, no peace-keeping effort, no answer for our world as it teeters toward the precipice.
There is only Jesus. He loves this lost world so much that he made the ultimate sacrifice for it. And us.
And lest you get the idea that this post is an ode to hopelessness, I want to assure you, it is not. It is, in fact, a call to hope in the only place hope is found. Once again, it is Isaiah who points us to that hope -
Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils; Why hold them in esteem, he asks? (2:22)
And then -
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (40:31)
Many of us grew up singing the words to that great old hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.” May it be a source of hope and encouragement for you today.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’s name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.
In Christ,
Dan
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You can listen to my weekly messages at Embrace Church, High Point.
How I look forward to reading your blog! You always make me smile, I can hear your deep voice speaking, and I'm always encouraged by your timely words. God uses you so uniquely and perfectly in my life, Dan. I can relate to this post - I have a terrible sense of direction, too! I have many 'lost in Seoul' stories to laugh over.