December 26, 2023

Luke 19: 10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (NIV)

It seems we’re often drawn to strategies rather than to a relationship.*

One time, when I was a little girl, our preacher and his wife and son came to visit. For some reason, our family took a stroll with them out through the field to the far reaches of our property. My brother, the preacher’s son, and I – all about the same age – wandered off into the woods a little ways while the grown-ups talked. The preacher’s kid, who was a city boy, panicked when he lost sight of his parents, and began to cry about being lost. My brother and I looked at each other in bewilderment. We could still hear our parents’ voices so we knew we weren’t lost.

My little friend had the opposite problem as the rest of the world: he thought he was lost but he wasn’t. The world is lost and doesn’t have a clue. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and he made it our mission, too. Seeking - and finding - the lost is not such a big job – they are all around us. But the next step is to convince them that they are lost.

I love step-by-step procedures, but obeying Jesus can seldom be broken down into a checklist. All lost people are not created equal. Each individual responds to the gospel in his own unique way. So when it comes to witnessing, there are two basic rules: know the person; and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. 

Jesus enlisted us to carry out his mission, but at the end of it all, only he can save the lost. Getting them to that point can never be accomplished without the Holy Spirit’s intervention. Don’t try to do it alone!

You will never give testimony about the Lord Jesus without the presence of his Holy Spirit to guide, help, and empower you.*