I drove down the street one day and saw a strange sight. A woman was digging in her trash container by the side of the road. She wasn’t dressed for the task; in fact, she looked like someone who was dressed for a special occasion. Something of great importance to her was lost in the scraps and trash of life.

Perhaps we have all had a similar experience of searching for something valuable in the waste. I have a feeling that under normal circumstances the lady would have never put her hand in that trash can, but when the loss is great, so are the measures we take to find it.

Many of us grew up hearing the word “lost” as a part of the language of faith. It seems that the word is fading away from our spiritual vocabulary. Is that because we are less lost than we once were, or because the value of the human soul is becoming less to us? Will we ever take desperate measures again to win lost souls to Christ?

It is true that lost doesn’t become desperate until it becomes personal. This is where today’s church age is in danger. God is interested in finding His lost children and He has taken extreme measures to find and save them. It can hardly be said that today’s Christianity shares His deepest concerns. We are busy with other things, but what has happened to our passion to save the lost?

The church is still in the “Lost and Found” business. (Pastors: God has made it clear that we are responsible for seeking the lost sheep: “I will hold them accountable for my flock” Ezekiel 34:10.) Perhaps we need to dust off this old hymn: “Souls are crying, men are dying – won’t you lead them to the cross. Go and find them, help to win them; Win the lost at any cost.” When we do, then we can sing:

“…there arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven, ’Rejoice! I have found my sheep!’ And the angels echoed around the throne, ‘Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own! Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own!”