“Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”     Luke 19:9-10 HCSB

Typically, when people tell us to get lost, it’s not a good thing, but stick with me here. Last night, my pastor said something that I had to think about carefully. He said, “Some people need to get lost before they can get saved.” So, I want you to think about this question: Were you ever lost?

In our Scripture passage, Jesus was talking to Zacchaeus. A tax collector who had just realized that he was a sinner in need of salvation. He agreed to give back the money he had illegally taken from others. He was promising to right the wrongs he had committed.

Zacchaeus met Jesus and realized that he was lost. He confessed his sins, repented, and did what he could to make restitution.

When we grow up in church and we take the Lord’s love and salvation for granted, we are in danger of not even realizing we are lost. We may even grow prideful, thinking we know all about the Bible, even though we have never really studied the Bible. This can lead to pride. We know God hates pride; we are told this in Proverbs 6:16-19.

Sadly, many of us think we are doing just fine, but we are as lost as a ball in high weeds, as my pastor often says. God can’t save us until we realize that we are lost.

When we realize we are lost, it humbles us. James 4:6 tells us, “But He gives greater grace. There He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

We fall into one of these categories: we are lost and we know it, we are lost and don’t know it, or we knew we were lost and surrendered to Him and have been saved.

If you are living in pride, thinking you are a great Christian and just wishing others could be doing as well as you are doing, you might want to get lost. You might want to come to an understanding and read some Scripture passages on pride.

In Psalm 51, David said he was conceived in sin. He didn’t mean it was sinful for his parents to conceive him; he meant we are sinful from the beginning. We are all born into sin. Romans 3:23 tells us we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.

We can’t be righteous without God. We can’t do it on our own. Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.”

Are you lost and you don’t know it? Ask yourself these questions: Do I love the Lord with all my heart and put Him first in all I do? (Matthew 22:37, Matthew 6:33), Do I love others as I love myself and put their needs above my own? (Matthew 22:39, Philippians 2:3).

If you think you are saved but are not imitating Christ to the best of your ability, you may want to get lost and start over. If you are holding on to sin and just hoping God will approve of it, you need to rethink that. If you have way more important things to do than daily prayer and Bible study, and your days are just too busy to spend time at least one day a week in God’s house giving Him worship and praise, you may want to re-prioritize.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. If you want to be saved, you have to first get lost or at least come to the realization that you are lost.

Have a great day!