Lost in the Woods

“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 18:11

Have you ever been lost in the woods?

Many years ago, my Dad and I walked deep into the woods across the street from our house. I was probably 16 at the time.

I still remember the sights and smells as we hiked that beautiful day in May.

It was an amazing, old growth forest. Those old trees were at least a hundred feet tall and made me feel absolutely tiny.

At some point we determined that the daylight would soon be fading and we’d better start making our way back home.

Dad started off in a direction that I was sure was wrong.

“Dad, that’s not the right way.
We came from THIS direction.”

I pointed through the woods in the direction that I assumed was south and toward home.

“No, that’s not right. It’s this way, we just came from this direction.” Dad pointed in his direction and we both exchanged a knowing look.

Neither of us knew for sure.
We were lost and it was getting dark. We had been through deep woods for years, but this was a new forest and we were turned around.

Neither of us had a compass.
Neither of us had a flashlight.
We hadn’t planned on needing those…now they would have been invaluable. I tried to use the sun, since it rises in the east and sets in the west, but we were under a thick canopy of trees and couldn’t even tell where the quickly setting sun was.

We settled on a direction and started walking. It was extremely hilly ground filled with old logs and fallen branches. To step on one in the dark could mean a rolled, sprained, or broken ankle.

We came through a stand of pine trees, absolutely lost in the dark but needing to stay in one steady direction until we came upon something familiar.

Familiarity came when we burst out of the woods and onto a road.
It was the highway a mile north of our house. We started walking on the road and arrived home well after dark.

After that day, we EACH had a flashlight and a compass in our pocket…ALWAYS.

Jesus stepped into the darkness of this world and became the one-man search party for lost sinners. His life is the torch that we now carry to reach others who are lost.

I can honestly say:
I’m more thankful that Jesus saved my lost soul than I’d have been with a hundred flashlights and compasses that day in the woods.
I once was lost, but now am found…
and I’m saved for all eternity.

Who do you know that’s lost, and what’s your part to get them saved and safely home?