Led By Jesus To Eternal Life

"Today's Devotion" For October 4, 2005

Read: Luke 15:11-32; Isaiah 55:1-7

LED BY JESUS TO ETERNAL LIFE

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Lk.19:10)

Have you ever been lost? Some would say they've never been lost, they just didn't know where they were. Huh? Of course, as we all know, men don't get lost, they just often haven't arrived at a place where they know they can get where they're going - I think my mother put it this way once. Of course, when it comes to men asking for directions prevailing thinking says they're incapable of doing so. Admitting being lost just isn't "cool," so getting lost can be quite embarrassing. It would seem that intelligent people should be able to read maps and follow directions - or at the very least would plan well enough ahead to know how they're supposed to get where they're going. Yet there are certainly times where circumstances and conditions make getting from one place to another a very difficult proposition.

Such was the case with a buddy of mine some years ago. “Bill" got lost while driving home in a blinding snowstorm. He couldn't see much beyond the front of his car. His parents expected him home for Christmas Eve and the unexpected snowstorm was putting a crimp in his travel time. Trying to figure out an answer to his dilemma, "Bill" remembered something his dad had told him when he was first learning to drive: "If you're ever lost in a snowstorm wait for a snowplow to come by and then follow it." Realizing that a snowplow would indeed be somewhere close because he was on a major highway, "Bill" decided to sit tight for awhile. His wait paid off. Not too long after stopping on the side of the road a snowplow came by. "Bill" pulled out behind it and followed it for almost an hour, at which point the snowplow stopped, the driver got out and walked back to "Bill's" car, and asked "Bill" what he was doing. "Bill" told him what his father had advised if lost in a snowstorm. The snowplow driver nodded his head, smiled and headed back to his plow. He stopped for just a moment and said, "Okay, you're welcome to follow me. I'm finished with the hospital's parking lot and I'm headed over to the Catholic church.

"Bill's" face turned quite red at this point as I remember it. He was quite embarrassed and of course the guys in the dorm lounge couldn't help but give him a hard time. Yet, at the same time all who had heard the story understood the embarrassment "Bill" felt. All of us had been there at one time or another. "Bill" had been blinded by the snow and by his own assumptions about the snowplow and where it was going. While he was looking for a way home and safe passage out of the storm, he ended up going in circles. His "salvation," the snowplow, was leading him all over the place - yet no place. He was using up his gas and making no progress toward his destination. "Bill" would have continued in his futile attempt at getting home in the snowstorm, rather than riding it out, if the snowplow operator hadn't stopped to find out why he had a "trailer." In reality, following the snowplow in this case was an exercise in futility. This was a case of the "blind" following blindly.

Finding the right spiritual direction in order to reach our intended spiritual destination is also problematic for human beings. Blinded by the temptations and allure of Sin in human existence, people are incapable of finding their way to God and heaven. Humanity's ultimate spiritual destination often becomes an alternative, settled for destination, rather than the destination God has in mind for us. Much of the advice people receive about spiritual things makes as much sense as "Bill's" father's advice to "follow a snowplow." It seems reasonable and logical at the time, but fails to take the "big picture" into consideration. People get all kinds of advice on how to "find" God, in a world that believes that there are many roads that lead to God. Blindly following the "blind guides" (Mt. 23:24) of false religions, human philosophies, and our own egotistical bent that we can find God on our own is a sure road to being lost in a "snowstorm" and never finding a way home.

In order to get us back on track our Father in heaven determined to redeem us from the "blinding snowstorm" that Sin places between us and Him. On our own we can neither know God nor love Him, thus there's no way we can find our way home to heaven by ourselves. So God in His infinite grace and mercy sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for Sin in our place and get us on the path to heaven through faith in Him. By the power of God's Word and Spirit the way home to God is clear and certain. God has searched for us and found us and in Christ He leads us home, not by a winding path to nowhere as my friend "Bill" was shown by the snowplow, but by God's own promise to us in Jesus that in Him life and the forgiveness of all our sins. We are no longer lost to God; in Christ we are both found and on the path to eternal life. Thank God He found us! It's a great day and a great life in Christ!

Prayer: Father, thanks for loving me so much that You sent Jesus to find me in the "blizzard" of Sin which would keep me from You. In His suffering, death, and resurrection my Lord Jesus paid the price and provided the direction that led me back to You. Forgive me for the times I lose sight of You and get lost in the things of the world. By Your Word and Spirit, in the power of my Baptism, keep me ever faithful to You and let me never be blinded by sin so that I never again might lose my direction and be lost to You. In the most holy and precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.