Lost Boys. . .and Girls

My son and I watched a movie together a few days ago called "Hook". It Stars Dustin Hoffman as Captain James Hook and Robin Williams as a grown up version of Peter Pan. While my son and I sat enjoying the fun and adventure of this movie God caused me to think about something that appears to be very distant from the movie "Hook".
I started thinking about the Lost Son that Christ spoke of in Luke 15:11-32. "A certain man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, father give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. Not many days after the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. He joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. When he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father , and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luke 15: 11-19
The scriptures go on to tell of how the young man's father accepts him back with open arms. His father is excited because his son "who was dead and is alive again, was lost, and is found." As Christians we rejoice about this parable, as we should, because we know that it applies to us. Because of our Lord Christ Jesus, and His redemptive death on the cross, we now have access to God. So it is appropriate to rejoice and to be excited about "prodigals".

Back to "Hook". The movie "Hook" is really more about the grown up version of Peter Pan than it is about the captain of a pirate ship who is missing a hand. Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barrie(1860-1937). A mischievous boy who flies and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys. Peter Pan doesn't know his parents.
I began to think about the Lost Boys. . . . and Girls of our day. The young men and women who don't know Christ. The boys and girls who don't know their parents. There are various reasons that young people don't know there parents and I'm not going to discuss all of them here but because these children don't know their parents they don't know themselves. They're lost. They don't have appropriate models to follow. They're unable to grow up because no one has shown them how. They don't have appropriate boundaries. They are unclear about life. Young people today are making it up as they go. They are lost.
The church today doesn't get very excited about these Lost Boys. . . . and Girls. Reaching out to young people engrossed in sin and depravity is messy and requires more of us than many are willing to give. It requires a commitment to work hard even when the reward isn't evident. It requires putting other people before ourselves. It demands our time and energy. Most of the time you will not receive a pat on the back or a "thank you". It's messy and it requires more than we have to give.
However, Christ has more than enough. If you're saved. If you belong to God's family. Then the Spirit of the living God resides on the inside of you. 1 Corinthians 3:16,6:19-20. Christ Jesus has the ability and power to deal with the messy lives of the lost. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted , to preach deliverance to the captives , and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19
Sounds to me like Christ Jesus had a mission and the power to deal with the messy lives of the lost. But what about me? I hear you saying."Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my father." John 14:12
God has equipped us "for the work of the ministry". There's work to be done and we have the tools. Jesus didn't suffer and die on the cross for us to be content with sitting in buildings, clapping our hands, singing a few songs, hearing a message and going home. There's an obligation that comes with this Christian life. To whom much is given, much is required. We've been given "the gift of God" through the sacrificial death of Christ Jesus. There's work to be done folks. Let's get to it.