The Lost

Have you ever sobbed for the lost? I'm not talking about for those you love who have not accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus offers us. I'm talking about ALL the lost. Have you ever been in a crowd of people, or driving down the road, and been suddenly burdened for their lost-ness? Not a tear or two rolling down the cheek either. I mean chest-heaving, gut-wrenching sobbing. It hasn't happened to me often, but it was very memorable. And painful. I can't imagine how heart-breaking it must be for Jesus.

It makes me think of John 11:33, 35. “When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved.... Jesus wept.” It is believed that the reason Jesus wept here was not over the fact that just Lazarus had died, but over the sin's tyranny and death because of the strong meanings behind the word translated as angry. He was overcome with frustration, anger, and sadness from sins effects. That's what being lost is. Clinging to sin instead of Christ.

I want to challenge you today to ask, and allow, God to place that burden on your heart. It's so heavy that we can not live with it at all times and function I believe, but it is a very beneficial experience. It gave me a stronger drive and urgency to reach the lost. It helped me to love them as God would have me. It gave me a compassion for them I didn't know could exist.