All Is Not Lost
I’ve been captivated by the story of the man who recently washed ashore on a tiny island in the South Pacific after having been lost at sea for 13 months.
What began as a one-day fishing expedition for Jose Salvador Alvarenga and a friend along the coast of Mexico, turned tragic when a storm blew the tiny boat off course and the engines ran dry. Alvarenga survived for over a year in the open ocean off of rainwater and the fish and turtles he was able to catch. Unfortunately, his friend did not survive.
Interestingly, this real life ordeal is eerily similar the plot of Robert Redford’s character in his recent movie, All is Lost. [Spoiler alert!] Just when you think Redford is going under for the last time a mysterious hand reaches down and pulls him to safety.
The Bible teaches that all of us have been blown off course. Every person has gone astray (Romans 3:12, 23). Although we find ways to stay alive, we drift aimlessly on an ocean of quiet desperation until, by a miracle of grace, the Rescuer finds us. Luke’s gospel tells me that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus is the hand that plunges into the deep, lifts us out of the darkness and into the light.
He gives us a life filled with gratitude, meaning, and direction.
Firstlight International is one of the rescue boats Jesus uses to carry Him to lost people in Thailand and elsewhere. When you partner with Firstlight, you are helping to extend Jesus’ hand to others who are “lost at sea”.
The good news of the Gospel is that all is not lost because Jesus is on a rescue mission, and he invites you and me to join him.
~ Bill Ellis
