Do Most Lost People Know They Are Lost?

5/2/18         Antonio   (video)          about 25

Do most lost people actually know they are lost?

Most reasonable people would agree that if one is on the wrong road, the sooner they turn around the sooner they can get on the right road. I’ve had a few incidents in life where I drove happily along, lost in thought, not knowing that I had missed a crucial turn and that I was doubling the time spent on my mistaken detour with every extra minute I continued in the wrong direction.

One time in particular, I drove west in Pennsylvania from the New York border for several hours. Or so I thought. What I didn’t know was that I accidently veered north, and I was shocked and confused when I saw a sign welcoming me back to New York! I would have been happy if someone would have kindly shown me the error of my ways and set me on the right path.

But when we are set in our ways, we don’t even think to question whether we might be lost.

Jesus said “…wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Why would anyone stay on the “road to destruction”? Some are aware but don’t seem to care, but to many, it is a path that “seems right”. And why not, so many other people are on it, so it can’t be wrong!

That’s the thinking that Antonio, a butcher on his way home from work, had as I talked with him on the sidewalk. He knows he isn’t perfect, but to him it seems obvious that God will punish the really bad people, but show mercy to the people like himself who have only minor indiscretions. He sees himself as one of the good guys, and, when questioned, concedes that maybe he might have to spend some time in purgatory.

By human standards, that seems reasonable. But we are judged by God’s standards, not our own.

So I used God’s law for what it is meant for – “…that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.” (Romans 7) Antonio needed to see himself and the path he is on from a different perspective, from the standard of God’s holiness, in order to see he is headed for destruction. Only then could he realize his need to trust in something other than his own perceived self-righteousness. Only then could he turn and get on the right path, the one leading to the Savior.

See our conversation at https://youtu.be/c1EyP-CtDsg on my YouTube channel.