Glad to have my first article up at Relevant--adapted from Chapter 7 of The Pursuing God (read the full article here).
The word “lost” has fallen on hard times. It can sound arrogant and condescending, as if Christians have it all together while the “lost” need to get their act together. As if we’re the brilliant insiders with all the answers and “they” are the outsiders with all the questions.
The problem is, when Jesus uses the term “lost,” it actually has the opposite connotation: Being lost doesn’t mean you need to go out and find God; it means God is coming to find you.
In Luke 15, Jesus shares three famous stories of a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son–and in each, lost doesn’t mean “idiot,” “fool” or “outsider.”
You see, “lost” means loved.,,