Do We Have a Burden for the Lost?
Jeremiah 8:20 says: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." The prophet Jeremiah expresses the anguish of a people whose harvest had not ended their desperate need as anticipated. What would they hope in now? How would their needs get met? Jeremiah used that illustration of despair as a warning about God's coming judgment.
Known as the weeping prophet, Jeremiah grieved for his nation's stubborn rejection of God's Word: "Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1). We need to be more like Jeremiah. While commending grief may seem insane, one word sums up why we should—lostness.
Lostness describes the state of men without Christ. Lostness is not an intellectual evaluation. Lostness isn't a psychological state. Lostness isn't an emotional category. Lostness is a spiritual condition. Without Christ, every single human being on the face of the earth is separated from true knowledge and relationship with God. Lostness is hopelessness for this life and for eternity. That doesn't mean the lost feel lost. That's part of being lost. You can be lost and quite confident in your direction. Most of the time the lost don't even feel the gravity of their situation. They don't realize it or reject the possibility.
Don't misunderstand; God is doing remarkable things in the world today. People are being saved and God is moving. I don't discount that one bit. But we shouldn't be confused about one thing. Lostness is pervasive. We have lost generations raising increasingly lost generations.
There is coming a day when if something does not change, the words of Jeremiah will be spoken by every lost soul: "The harvest is past and we are not saved." Just like the days of harvest are limited, there is coming a day when the opportunity for salvation will be shut just like the door to the ark. Does that bother you? Does that move you to pray for the lost? Not nameless, faceless people in some place you have never been but people you know--family members and friends.
If God's people have no burden for the lost, it's no surprise that the lost would not be concerned either. It's almost as if we don't really believe people are lost any more. All of the other things we get obsessed with are secondary. If my political views prevail but lostness continues I've gained nothing of eternal significance. Lord, give us a burden for the lost! Give us boldness to share Jesus with someone today.