No- not the T.V. show. We like to say around here at New Season Church that lost people matter to God. Among people who are concerned with carrying out the mission of the church to make disciples of Jesus Christ there is a lot of talk about connecting lost people to Christ.
Jesus made it clear that he came to seek and save the lost. He illustrated this by telling stories about a losing one sheep and leaving the other 99 to go and find it. He told a story about a diligent search for a lost coin and a story about a son who brazenly requested his inheritance even before his father died, squandered it and ultimately came to his senses and returned. It was said of him that he was once lost but now found.
Recently I have been hearing objections to this term loss to refer to people. I think these objections are raised because of a desire to move away from any position of arrogance among Christ followers. This thinking says that if we say someone without Christ is lost then we are classifying them, objectifying them, and engaging in spiritual hubris.
As in most things we do well to find the truth in such objections. I think we can say along with the witness of scripture and Jesus that those who have not yielded their life to Jesus Christ are lost like all of us have been and are when we stray from faith and sin. We need to avoid knee jerk reactions that bow to the gods of inclusivity and political correctness without much theological reflection.
However, we need to be sure not to set ourselves up as above or somehow superior because we have bowed the knee to Christ. Those who have been "found" are no more valuable than lost people. (There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 righteous people. Jesus came not for the well but for the sick). Christ is not a commodity that we have and can "give" to others like the latest trading card.
We do well to be wise as serpents yet as gentle as doves in this matter. We probably want to be careful of our speech around lost people- for while they are indeed lost without Christ- what they might hear is arrogance and condescension and shut down and we lose the opportunity to be the light of Christ.
Jesus made it clear that he came to seek and save the lost. He illustrated this by telling stories about a losing one sheep and leaving the other 99 to go and find it. He told a story about a diligent search for a lost coin and a story about a son who brazenly requested his inheritance even before his father died, squandered it and ultimately came to his senses and returned. It was said of him that he was once lost but now found.
Recently I have been hearing objections to this term loss to refer to people. I think these objections are raised because of a desire to move away from any position of arrogance among Christ followers. This thinking says that if we say someone without Christ is lost then we are classifying them, objectifying them, and engaging in spiritual hubris.
As in most things we do well to find the truth in such objections. I think we can say along with the witness of scripture and Jesus that those who have not yielded their life to Jesus Christ are lost like all of us have been and are when we stray from faith and sin. We need to avoid knee jerk reactions that bow to the gods of inclusivity and political correctness without much theological reflection.
However, we need to be sure not to set ourselves up as above or somehow superior because we have bowed the knee to Christ. Those who have been "found" are no more valuable than lost people. (There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 righteous people. Jesus came not for the well but for the sick). Christ is not a commodity that we have and can "give" to others like the latest trading card.
We do well to be wise as serpents yet as gentle as doves in this matter. We probably want to be careful of our speech around lost people- for while they are indeed lost without Christ- what they might hear is arrogance and condescension and shut down and we lose the opportunity to be the light of Christ.
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