Bless-ed! 52 Blessings Your Lost Friend Doesn’t Have . . . And What You Can Do About It! (Part 3)

I’ve recently been challenged (by my time with my unsaved friend “Mike”) to think about what I have as a believer and what those who are lost don’t have. This may seem like a strange exercise, but it has a way of focusing my prayers and my priorities to genuinely care about my lost friends.

In sharing the biblical truth with Mike that he is “lost” and “unsaved” without Jesus, he responded with his conviction that he was just fine with God. But that’s not what God’s Word says. So my friend Mike (and my other unsaved friends) (1) don’t have an authoritative source for what they believe. We also noticed that our unsaved friends (2) don’t have the assurance that their sins are forgiven.

Let’s think about a third blessing that our unsaved friends don’t have and that is —

3. THEY DON’T HAVE A LIFE-LONG, SATISFYING MISSION IN LIFE!

What is my friend Mike’s “mission” in life? I suppose — if I were to ask him — he would probably say, “I want to be a good person, help others, be kind and compassionate, and die with my family by my side.” Those are good qualities and ambitious goals — but that’s what life is about?

What about knowing the living God? What about rescuing people from God’s eternal wrath? What about sharing in any way possible the message of forgiveness and reconciliation that Jesus provides to those who believe? What about a life mission that will require all one’s energy and resources and priorities and insight and purpose? And my friend Mike doesn’t have that.

To be quite honest and blunt, in the words of Pastor John Piper, my friend Mike has wasted his life! But it’s not too late. And I pray he will come to Christ and use the remainder of his days to have a mission far greater than any one he has ever dreamed of.

Are you concerned that your friend does not have God’s eternal mission in life? Pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to his heart — and remind him that he only has one life. And it can count for God! (to be continued)