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Skirts, Flirts, Hurts & 5 Questions About Modesty

Kuerts

In coming across a well spread article on modesty, I began to have some red flags go off in me while reading it. While I’m sure the author is a Jesus-loving lady, I disagreed largely with her thoughts and I wanted to share some thoughts of my own taken from my journey regarding modesty.

While I didn’t grow up attending church and being taught on biblical modesty, I was taught self-value. I may not have entered a church at 2 years old, but I did enter the dance studio. Which means that as I grew, I took on my parent’s tall lean build and my “Dance Team” cheer skits were often shorter than others. My identity was formed in a typical MTV generation culture where women were viewed as sexual objects. Being raised in a time where media showed unfaithfulness, fornication, pornography, and impossible standards of beauty for women, what else was I to think? I didn’t know any better and I longed to be found beautiful by the opposite sex. This caused a long hard road of heartache, but out of it came great redemption from the love of God and his beautiful plan for my life to be pure and pleasing to Him. It is because of my experience in the freedom of Christ that I share these questions with you.

#1 Is There a Clear Line Regarding Christian Modesty?

Don’t worry! I’m not going to tell you that a way to measure modesty is by the “hallelujah” test where you raise your arms to see if your shirt is too short (an embarrassing and ridiculous test if you ask me—just wear long layers underneath your top). Nor am I going to give you a list of dos and don’ts. Instead I want to challenge us to think, ask questions, and seek to be those who fully love God.

The short answer to this question is no, there isn’t a clear line which is why there are so many views on this topic. I’m not saying that I have all the answers, but I feel it’s important to start by looking at what Scripture has to say about this topic.

1 Peter 3:3-5 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.”

1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

It appears that both Peter and Paul were on the same page and I agree with them. I believe that all scripture is from God and that woman should dress as to reflect Jesus properly. I believe these scriptures equally mean that we shouldn’t be materialistic or obsessed with our outward appearance and our wardrobe. I also believe that there are some absolutes when it comes to modesty such as not having your breasts and other private parts hanging out (in a Western context, more on this later). Beyond the absolutes though in regards to manner of dress AND disposition of personality, I personally believe that daughters of God must listen to the Bible and to the conviction of the Holy Spirit themselves.

The reality is that someone could submit pictures to me of a woman wearing a particular outfit and I could give my personal opinion or even submit it before a panel of Christian men and get their opinion. If we all deemed the outfit inappropriate, one might be motivated not to wear it. However, until a person desires to please the Lord for himself or herself and listen to Him, they won’t have the personal conviction and proper motivation to please Him by what they wear and how they act.This is in my opinion where legalism can come into play and why many rebel against the “standards” that are set by others. It is one thing to comply with a dress code for a job or for a church service, but unless someone comes to a mature place to understand what pleases Jesus, they’ll often view these dress codes as legalistic and thus miss an opportunity to see His views.

The place modesty should start is in serving Jesus, not ourselves. When we get our focus on serving Jesus, we will seek to be pleasing to Him in all that we do. In so doing this we can eliminate the mentality of, “How close can I get to the line without crossing it?” and the attitude of flaunting our wardrobe and accessories. We can then be empowered to be as abandoned to the will of God as possible and become what God has always desired, a heart that is fully His. A heart that chooses Him, honors Him, and one that is quick to repent of sin and be near to Him. It’s important to know that Jesus doesn’t condemn us and shame us into submitting to His ways, BUT He will correct us and lead us into righteousness for His name’s sake as we choose to do His will. (Psalm 23:3) I say this to clarify that Jesus delights in us doing His will and doesn’t beat us up when we sin. He loves and takes pleasure in helping us mature in righteousness and become more like Him.

I’d like to say too that modesty is more than just our outward appearance. Modest clothing doesn’t always equal modest behavior. Any woman or man can be fully clothed and still be operating in a seductive and lustful spirit. By contrast, someone else may not be modestly dressed, but they might have a genuine heart to seek God and aren’t aware of how to dress. As believers we can teach and share with others, but it is not our place to judge based on non-absolutes that aren’t clearly defined in Scripture. Which brings me to my next point…

#2 Are We Teaching on Modesty in the Right Spirit?

I stated earlier that my “cheer skirts” were short. School dress code prohibited shorts or other skirts to be any shorter than fingertip length with arms fully extended by your side. Therefore due to my genetically long monkey arms, my fingertip length for shorts/skirts was considered “dorky” back then and I would’ve been made fun of mercilessly. When summer time came with no school restrictions on my outfits, I typically wore “short shorts” and tank tops where my midriff showed some. Where I’m from in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it gets into the 100s and the less you wore, the more comfortable you were. That was all I knew.

When I made Jesus the Lord of my life my junior year of High School at 16 years old, much changed in my life. I was so hungry for God, I attended church a few times a week, read my bible everyday, but I was still a baby in Christ and had plenty to learn (and I still do!).

Often after youth group, some of us would go for Tex-Mex and I’d get free food like chips and pop from the waiters. I’ve always had a strong personality, a deep love for people that caused me to talk to everyone, and then there’s my vibrant red hair. This combination definitely caused me to be noticed more than I realized. At this stage in life I didn’t have a strong identity in Christ, nor did I realize that I was drawing impure attention from men. I knew I wasn’t sleeping around and wearing super revealing clothes so I thought that in comparison with other girls, I was doing great! I just couldn’t see my blind spot.

One day during my senior year of High School, I had a talk with some of my male youth leaders that changed my life forever. They spoke with me about my strong personality and how that combined with how I dressed, men were turning their heads and giving me attention that wasn’t pure. These leaders shared the struggles men have with sexual sin and it helped me understand the realities of lust. They celebrated my leadership “command the room” type personality, my desire to connect with people, and they helped me find a righteous balance. They spoke in such a tender Spirit led way that I didn’t walk away feeling ashamed. Instead I left the conversation feeling beautiful and I desired to protect the beauty that God had placed within me. Their talk left me realizing that my personality gave me an opportunity to point people to Jesus and that put a joyous responsibility on me and it is partially why I’m secure in who I am today.

There were other love centered rebukes in the years that followed and I appreciated the insight and the correction that came with being held to a righteous standard. However, there were a few other instances where I was told in rather harsh ways that what I was wearing wasn’t proper and even that the way that I swayed my hips in worship could be distracting for men. Those moments always left me feeling embarrassed and degraded rather than corrected in love. For a short while I became more focused on how I moved while worshipping Jesus, than focused on actually worshipping Jesus.

The point in sharing these two examples is to emphasize the contrast of confrontations. One group sought to turn what God had given me, a people loving outgoing personality, into a pure hearted and modest awareness that displayed Christ; whereas the other sought to correct an outward appearance based on personal opinion without welcoming the love of God into the situation.

I think that as believers we MUST meet people where they are and speak in love. We can’t assume that they’ve had the best examples growing up or that they understand their new identity in Christ. I believe there is a way to teach modesty to women and men in a way that helps them fall more in love with Jesus and who He’s created them to be. I often think of how Jesus treated the woman caught in adultery in John chapter 8 with tenderness and empowerment to walk away from a place of sin with renewed hope. This approach can cultivate a desire for one to yield themselves to Him not only in their outward appearance, but also in a manner of heart.

#3 Have We Become Victims to Culture and Society?

There are common mentalities in the world today that provide opportunities for people to not own responsibility for their actions or to be held accountable to a moral compass that sets boundaries. Simply put, people don’t like to be told what to do. These ideologies have crept into the church and have given believers an excuse to do as they please instead of being accountable to God. If we profess to follow Christ, the Bible should be our final word of authority, not the society around us. I believe that when our desire is to please the Lord in every area of our lives, He will help us. As believers, we must all become responsible for our actions and our attitudes. When we stand before God one day He isn’t going to ask how many people made us stumble. He will ask if we partnered with His word to overcome the temptations we found ourselves in and if we turned away from sin.

I had plenty of excuses with my MTV background and my flirty skirts to play victim to circumstance. I faced plenty of temptations in the area of sexual sin as well as being involved in impure relationships in my teen years. Instead of remaining in a place of hurt and insecurity, I sought the Lord, read His word, and invited His loving correction into my life. I’m grateful as this turn of heart caused me to experience freedom and I ended up marrying a holy, Jesus-loving man, whose heart towards me is pure.

My husband grew up as a missionary in East Africa and as a single man, he was a missionary in Burundi. This offered him unique insight into modesty as it relates to cultural differences. Almost every time he would preach in a church in Burundi, women would begin to openly breastfeed their babies. I understand that this varies from the typical American church service where women would never do this, but in Africa and many parts of the world this is completely normal. Hello—hungry babies + moms hungry for word of God=breastfeeding in service and anywhere for that matter. So here was my husband having prayed and prepared a word, continually faced with the onslaught of up close and personal breasts as he preached. He said to me, “It wasn’t their fault that their babies are hungry and that they chose to feed them during service. It was my responsibility to have my flesh crucified so that I was only looking to Jesus and focused on what He wanted to say to the people. There was no excuse to entertain lust just because there was an opportunity for it, for I’m accountable to God’s Word.” I realize most men aren’t going to be preaching in a cultural context like Burundi, but the same principle applies if they see a woman dressed improperly or if presented with pornography.

There are natural chemical responses in our bodies that manifest physically when faced with a sexual temptation. Particularly for men being more visual than women, they can get an adrenaline rush just from seeing a woman’s body. I agree that it’s not their fault that their bodies are made to respond like that because in the context of marriage it is wonderful and holy. HOWEVER, it is the man’s responsibility to deal with their response to culture and society in a way that glorifies God just as much as it is for a woman to dress and behave in a way that glorifies God. This means glorifying God both inwardly in their thought life as well as outwardly by turning away their eyes. The influence of the world doesn’t give believers the right to play victim to unrighteousness. We are held to the same Biblical standards regardless of others actions.


#4 Are We Protecting the Hearts of Others?

When people dress or act inappropriately it is often rooted in insecurity from a lack of identity in Christ. This insecurity produces selfishness that can lead to pressures to compete and compare with others, which can ultimately lead to compromise. If we honor the opposite sex selflessly as brothers and sisters in Christ, then we have an opportunity to mature in our identity in Him. This produces a pure heart that wants to protect others.

Proper identity in Christ as a son or daughter teaches us to honor, love, and protect those around us by treating them as we would the Lord Himself.

When a person reaches a place where they love the opposite sex purely and serve them with the heart of Christ instead of operating out of insecurity, God releases maturity into their hearts that can carry them into a healthy marriage. My single years taught me to be a sister to other men and to keep my heart guarded for the man I’d marry someday. Holding to this posture as a married or single person can help us create safe environments for godly relationships to flourish so that we can purely partner together for His kingdom.

#5 Have We Truly Experienced the Freedom in Christ that Sets Us Apart from this World?

Unrighteousness living presents “freedom” as being whoever we want to be and doing whatever feels good. The freedom in Christ produces what others could view as “restrictions”, but it ultimately gives us authentic liberty. Modesty isn’t limiting who we are; rather it’s releasing us into who God made us to be. Let me say to all the ladies reading this; there is incredible beauty in being a daughter of God. There is likewise a heavy burden in being a daughter of this world enslaved to what others define as beautiful.

When I read the blog that I mentioned in my intro, I was sitting in an Islamic context with women physically covered up all around me. This could be why the blog struck me as so bizarre as it conveyed that the more covered up a woman was; then the less men would lust, which I disagree with. I don’t know if that author is familiar with Islamic culture, nor do I pretend to be an expert, but I do know how oppressive that religion can be for women in various ways. In the manner of dress, they are typically covered up from head to toe, often in strict culture having only their eyes visible. The rationale behind this is because women’s bodies elicit lust and men simply can’t control themselves. Islam teaches that it’s the woman’s fault that men lust and that she must cover up her entire body. The Bible on the other hand teaches us to deny OURSELVES, crucify OUR FLESH and put to death the lusts of OUR SOUL. Herein lies my problem with Christians who teach that it’s not the man’s fault when he lusts after a woman. I wasn’t there, but from what I read, Bathsheba was only taking a bath! I’m not sure how it was her fault that David lusted after her. We must remember what Jesus said, “if anyone even looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). If we say that it’s exclusively the woman’s fault that a man looks and then lusts after her, how then is that any different than Islam? If we suggest that women should only be covered in large baggy garments, how is that releasing freedom to the daughters of God?

I share this because the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ is not bound in legalism and oppression that the world offers. There is HOPE in Jesus that liberates us from sin and separates us into righteous living (right standing with Him). He calls us out from serving our flesh and into finding our beauty in who He has created us to be. This freedom doesn’t permit us to make others stumble. Rather, our modesty becomes worship to the one true living God.

*If you’d like to encourage someone with this blog, share it! If you’d like to comment on this, I’d love to hear from you. :)

I’m working on expanding this into a short book and would love your feedback! (Jan 2014)

Day 22–Words in RED–Faith Without Sight

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Today I had the opportunity to speak to some Kenyan youth. Their service was a panel discussion where they could ask leaders questions. I was asked at the beginning of service to close the end. I was blown away by the questions these young people asked. They asked such involved things that it was decided to continue the panel next week.

As I listened to their thoughts and questions, I formatted thoughts to close with. I thought of this verse in that we are those in the later part of the verse. We believe in Jesus even though we do not see Him. When you consider all of those who have given their lives to Jesus since His resurrection against those who physically walked with Him on the earth, it’s obvious more have believed without seeing than who believed by seeing.

I know I often want to be like Thomas, whom Jesus is addressing here. He wanted to be absolutely sure that this was truly Jesus. While I’d like to physically be with Him to know He is real, I’ve yet to have that privilege;) . Yet I have His word, His saving grace, and the testimony of His life, death and resurrection.

I have the choice to either believe or not believe the words in red. There will be moments of questions and not understanding all of the bible. Many times I’ve asked questions that the youth asked today. Often I’ve wondered why did God do this or why did God say that. While I may not always understand, I keep seeking Him. I keep taking steps towards Him. Jesus didn’t discourage Thomas’ unbelief or questions. Instead He met Thomas in the midst of uncertainty and proved who He was.

Likewise blessed are we when we believe even if we don’t see. Even if we don’t understand everything there is to know about Jesus, but we choose to believe, we are blessed. Even if we question things at times, it’s ok as long as we seek Him, His truth and His word and still believe. Jesus affirmed Thomas and drew near to his questioning heart. How much more will He draw near to is whom, “have not seen yet believed”?

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2

Lostness (Part 3 of 3)

The Lostness Around Us

My husband and I just returned from a walk around the block before I started writing this. On our walk, we discovered a small lost kitten that was hiding in someone’s yard. Now anyone who knows me well enough knows that I don’t like cats, but I can’t resist feeling compassionate when the cat was in this lost state. The second time around the block, the cat lay really low as if trying to blend in with the grass. This cat had no collar and seemingly was without hope. Then we turn the corner and spot one of our neighbor’s dogs running around in the street. This sight is not too uncommon as the dog’s name is “Smokey” and escapes out the front door as my neighbors take smoke breaks ;-) As I’m typing this I can hear a little girl yelling, “SMOKEY!!!!” outside my window. While this dog has a home, it’s continually in a state of being overlooked and running around as if lost. 

Today’s blog concludes the topic of lostness by addressing the lostness around us. Monday I referenced how in recent missions meetings, that it had been discussed that being lost was the absolute worse condition to die. That some would die poor and in disease, but could still leave this earth to spend eternity with the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. Lostness is the most important thing on God’s heart and the greatest hinderance from His kingdom coming further in power to overthrow darkness and sickness. He “desires that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance”, according to 2 Peter 3:9. We must be like Jesus and “be about His Father’s business”. How do we see and hear like Jesus? Especially in the midst of our busy lives?

Let’s face it, is easy to overlook opportunities to be compassionate. Lostness surrounds us, yet we must have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a mouth to speak the right words and act rightly. This is where we must look to Jesus. He said in John 14:10,”Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” If the Son was fully dependent on the Father to be moved in all acts of righteousness, how dependent should we be? Jesus wasn’t just able to perform great miracles of healing the sick, raising the dead, and bringing salvation forth solely because He was the Son of God. He rested in His Father’s love and direction and yoked Himself to be obedient to the Spirit within Him. Likewise, we must rely on the Spirit to see lostness around us. 

Just as the cat tried to blend into it’s surroundings this evening, the co-worker in the office next to you might try to hide the abuse at home from you. When we feel lostness in our own lives, we tend to retreat and become immobile. This is where the fear of the enemy can paralyze us. When someone is separated from right standing with God, they tend to be at a stand still. They aren’t necessarily moving towards or away from Him. They are lost. This is where the truth of the word of God can come into action through our lives.

I addressed in Part 2 of his blog that we must filled and be continually filled with Holy Spirit in order to overcome the lostness in our own lives. This infilling enables us to see the lost around us. According to the Joshua Project, a non-profit that deal with unreached people groups around the world, 40% are still considered unreached. This doesn’t mean that the other 60% necessarily knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. It just means that they have had adequate exposure to the gospel. This is scary if you consider that most of the United States would be termed “Christian” culture. Yet even here and in every city, there are people facing lostness and hurting. 

Of course it may seem easy for me, a missionary, to be so passionate to write about reaching the lost around us, but it’s not easy or convenient no matter your occupation. However, if we are a child of God, a joint heir with Jesus, we must fall in love with Their heart and it directly beats for people. 

I return to the quote I put on the 1st entry; “We know what it is to lose health and wealth and reputation, but what is the loss of all things compared with the loss of the soul?”-D. L. Moody.  With this, I challenge you to hear the whisper I heard a few days ago. To press into what Holy Spirit would be saying for this hour. He cares about the lostness in each of us. He cares about those who are separated from hIm eternally. We must let the pain of our own lostness drive us to be filled, so that we are “found” and that we might reach others with His great love. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17)

God wants to continue to save the lostness in each of us. May we lose our lives in the shadow of the cross of Jesus to find everlasting life in Him. May all of our broken hearts caused by great loss be ever filled with the indwelling of Holy Spirit and may the lost come to know Him fully.

Lostness (Part 2 of 3)

The Lostness Within Us

Monday night I decided that I needed to unwind and watch a movie. My husband graciously suggested I watch “Love Comes Softly” while he cooked dinner for me. We had purchased this movie some months ago on sale at Mardel’s. It seemed right up my alley just from the title. I quickly scanned the description on the back and read how many minutes the movie was, 88, perfect! I popped in the DVD and sat down. 5 minutes into it, not the ending, but 5 minutes in I’m crying. This young couple is pioneering new land in “the West” and came upon their new settlement together. Mixed emotions fill them as they argue and celebrate. Then my husband, Stephen enters the room and asks me a question about our food, so I pause the movie and regain my composure. Then I say ,”If the husband dies, I’m turning this off!” Well within two minutes “tragedy” hits and I lose it! I’m not ruining the story for you because what I had overlooked on the cover was the explanation that “tragedy” hits this young couple and she meets someone else! So much for a relaxing family movie!
Why am I sharing this silly story? Because I’ve been praying and preparing my heart this week to speak on lostness and while this was a movie, my heart was in far too sensitive of a place to handle that storyline (especially as a newlywed who is to embark on new territory myself as a missionary). Loss that we feel in our individual lives can leave us with a lot of pain. Pain that is not dealt with properly can become toxic emotions that hurt us and those around us. When we suffer loss, we are grieving and reeling and it effects all that surrounds us. Ever loss we incur creates new emotions and belief systems that form how we act and react.
There is a precious family I know who lost two of their three daughters in tragic events. The oldest daughter, who was married, died in the same car accident their youngest daughter survived. When the policeman came to their house and informed them of the news, the father yelled, “JESUS IS STILL LORD!”!!! His immediate reaction in a moment of trauma was to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus over the situation. He didn’t think that through, but it was a result of years of a solid dependency in Christ through the far smaller “losses”. This response and testimony shook me. This family later on lost their middle daughter because she had a seizure in her sleep while away at school. I met this family a couple of years after both of these incidents and was so loved and accepted by them. I couldn’t believe how steadfast they were and how graciously they opened their home and discipled young adults. This was a family who learned to allow Jesus to heal them, fill them, and flow through their lives even when pain occurred.
There are real psychological and physicolgocial things that occur in a moment when you lose something. Even if it is as simple as misplacing an item like your phone or your wallet. The “fight or flight” mode that our bodies rush into immediately cause us to deplete certain hormones in our bodies. Amplify the response by losing sight of your child in a crowd or losing a large research paper as it suddenly disappears into the oblivion of your computer, and your body reacts strongly. When we experience loss, our bodies need to refuel and recharge. This is why it is so important to turn to the Lord in our suffering. Loss in our lives will always create a need to be filled and God desires that we be filled with the right things.
Heaven’s perspective on lostness starts in creation when God, the Father lost continual fellowship with man. Then He gave His son so that we wouldn’t be lost. The Son sacrificed His blameless life so that we wouldn’t be lost. The Holy Spirit was then poured out so that we could be filled and continually filled while on this earth. This “infilling” of the Spirit is to bring us to revelation of who the Father and the Son are and empower us to be victorious in this life. This does not mean that death and destruction won’t effect our lives, but it does mean in the face of loss, we can overcome and be filled. When we have hurt over a loss, that gives us an opportunity to know how great His love really is. Jesus said in John 4:23-24 says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” This was affirmation that one day, we as lost people would know truth to worship God fully by. This is why worshipping Him can be so powerful! We can get lost in worshipping Him and receiving His love and restoration of all things lost.
 
Lostness strips away the superficiality of life so that you can truly find fulfillment in the fullness of God. I do not mean that God causes these losses in our lives, but we live in a fallen and broken world in which we are all really lost without Him. Until one recognizes their lostness, they can’t properly depend on His Lordship and embrace His fullness.
My prayer for you today would be that you would see the lostness in your life as an opportunity to turn to Jesus. That if you know you aren’t right with Him, you’d see a hope to the separation you feel from the love of God. If you are living for Him, I pray that through the hurt of the loss in your life that you could experience the fullness of how great His love really is.
If you didn’t read Part 1 of “Lostness” and my testimony, please scroll down. Friday will be on the Lostness around us.

Lostness (Part 1 of 3)

“We know what it is to lose health and wealth and reputation, but what is the loss of all things compared with the loss of the soul?” D. L. Moody
 
The other morning as I was being, you know super spiritual and curling my hair ;-), I was pondering a sad reality of a loss I suffered this past year. The pain of this loss has hit me in waves at times, but on this particular morning there was a full realization that the way things were will never be the same ever again. It was different than other relational losses I’ve encountered and somewhere in my mind I hadn’t realized the finality of the situation. As my thoughts settled in that morning, I began thinking about lostness. 
 
You see, I lost my cousin, Tess who was also my best friend to cancer when we were both 14 years old. I have felt the loss of a close friend before. I remember being in the first couple of months of my Freshman year of High School walking through the halls with a gaping wounded heart. I felt numb and the ability to cope let alone thrive was beyond me. I would sit in Algebra class and try to retain at least one principle of it’s foreign language ( X=Y+?!!!!!). This gap in my heart, this loss of close love drew me to the Cross in one way or another. It wasn’t immediate, but the wounds in my heart called out to be filled. As I went through this time, I began to value life differently. I wanted to live my life in such a way that people would be changed positively my life. I watched how my cousin had suffered for 7 years in her body, but she did so with joy and made a positive impact in many lives. I knew I could either satisfy myself in the desires of a typical teenager, or maybe, just maybe God had the fulfillment that I was needing. I had already prayed a “prayer of salvation” as a 6th grader and faithfully attending FCA. This may or may not have been because of the good looking older male athletes that were there each Wednesday morning ;-) but nonetheless, I came and desired the realness of God, but knew something still was missing. I ended up having beautiful encounter with the Spirit of God about two years later at 16 years old and made Jesus Christ the Lord of my life. I became a daughter of the Most High God and was exposed to His marvelous light and felt not just “saved” but a relationship! For me, this was the greatest restoration of the lostness in my heart from losing Tess.
 
When I was pondering lostness and my own scenario, I thought about how much it really hurts to suffer loss. No matter the situation, loss hurts. My thoughts were stopped as I felt Holy Spirit whisper to my heart that morning, “Imagine how broken I am over those who are still lost and don’t know me.” I broke. Not that my loss of relationships, health and other occurrences aren’t valid or aren’t losses. They are and they matter deeply to the heart of God. I just believe in this particular moment, God wanted to bring healing to my heart from this particular incident by showing me a higher perspective. In speaking this to my heart, I was able to connect the sorrow of lostness I was feeling to a glimpse of His heart for those lost in darkness and separated from Him.
 
Luke 19:10 says,”the Son of Man (Jesus) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The word lost here means perishing, destroyed fully or cut off entirely. When Jesus was sent to this earth, He came to bring those who were lost, without hope and completely living in darkness to the Father. He was to restore what had been stolen from God’s original intent for us and redeem us from death, Hell and destruction. You can’t “sort of” be found or “saved”. You are either a child of God with a surrendered life to Jesus, or you are lost and perishing outside of the intent of God for your life. The whole purpose of why Jesus came was lostness. If as Christians we are His followers, we should walk in the steps of Jesus and bring salvation to those who are lost.
In a recent missionary training, the topic of lostness came up from our Director of Africa Missions. He mentioned that the worst possible condition that anyone could die in was lostness. There will be those who die hungry. Those who will die naked or in disease. Yet there is no worse way to die than by being separated eternally from the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. 
This week, I want to challenge you to ponder lostness. Today’s entry is just an introduction to this topic, but I pray that as the week unfolds you’ll receive healing in your lives and impact those around you.
Wednesday’s topic will be on lostness in us and Friday’s will be on the lostness around us.