The Hope of EasterSample

Adrift

The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. -Luke 19:10

A man desperate for work agreed to spend six months miles from shore on a tiny fishing hut—lighting lamps to attract fish. His only human contact occurred once a week when supplies were delivered.

Disaster struck when the hut’s mooring broke and he drifted hundreds of miles out to sea. His hopes later sank as he watched ten ships pass and his cooking fuel ran out. Finally, after 49 days adrift, the man was spotted by a ship’s crew and rescued!

We may never be stranded in the ocean, but most of us have felt adrift, lost, and desperate for help and hope.

Perhaps like Zacchaeus in today’s Scripture reading, we’re an outcast and yet somehow know Jesus is the One we need (Luke 19:3-4). Scripture repeatedly recounts how God comes to us in our rebellion and troubles.

In Eden, God finds Adam and Eve, hiding and confused (Genesis 3:8-9). And Israel runs away again and again (Psalm 78:40), but God draws them back.

Finally, Jesus, God’s ultimate Source of rescue, comes not for those who have life figured out but for those who are in a mess. Jesus “came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10).

While we face challenges amidst the tossing seas of life, God promises to be with us in them. And hope comes as we remember that Jesus has provided our ultimate rescue—from sin and death (v. 9; Ephesians 2:4-8).

Winn Collier

Where do you need God’s rescue? Where are you lost? What would it take for you to yield to God’s rescue and help?

Dear Father, I’m out on my own, in deep trouble. I don’t think anyone can help me. But You say You come for the lost. I’m here. Please come.