Those who search only in the world for continuing satisfaction and pleasure, for a purpose in and for their lives, have completely and totally wasted their entire life. A harsh statement, but true, all of the things that the lost attempt to accomplish here serve no purpose whatsoever, at least in the area of the spirit, I have spent many long hours over the past few years on this subject, and have yet to come to one conclusive statement, what is the purpose of the lost here on earth, those who will die in their sins.
In a way, they are a necessary function in the continuing maintenance of the planet, producing the materialistic items that we need and desire, as it were, and although the followers of Christ are interspersed among them, the zeal for the world is not to be compared between the two, we serve the Lord Jesus, they do not. The garden must be tended, and since the curse, (Gen. 3:17) the tending must be done with vigor, by the sweat of our brow, and without interruption, weeds, thorns and thistles grow at an amazing rate. Every single thing that is done in the materialistic sense for this world will eventually need to be redone, refurbished, or replaced, the undergrowth must be cut back, the maintenance is never ending.
Perhaps that is their main purpose, for it is indeed the world they serve, whether it be for self or for others, produce and consume, there are no other avenues to travel upon here for the lost. Perhaps they are here for the born-again believers, to not only produce so that we can consume, but also as a means for us to suffer, for it is rare, or should be, that a believer should suffer in any way at the hands of another Christian, how would we know suffering if the lost were not among us, for we will surely not suffer at their hands when we are in heaven. At this point of my path with Christ, this is the one that makes the most sense, the wicked are here to persecute the righteous. Although we fight against principalities and powers, against spiritual darkness, (Eph. 6:12) those powers use the lost in many ways to inflict harm upon the children of God, when He allows it. This may be the main reason they are here, and in one way it makes their service valuable, for they are being used by the Lord to teach us to suffer well, to love our enemies, for without them we could not learn these lessons.
There are those that will die in their sins and remain for all eternity in the Lake of Fire, many more than we might like to admit, for few are chosen, (Matt. 22:14) and although we must never look upon them in hatred, we must understand that they serve a purpose, for all things serve the will of God. These are the vessels fitted for wrath, (Rom. 9:22) the souls of men and women whom God will show no pity to for all eternity, and so we must pity them here. They search for a meaning to their lives constantly, seeking one day what they will also search for the next, and each moment up until their final breath, they will always seek but never find, for there is no fulfilment for the hungry soul on this earth outside of Christ.
There are far too many who profess Christ as Lord that are still doing the same, although hopefully to a lesser extent, they seek for satisfaction, some sense of meaning for their lives here on this planet and within what it has to offer, instead of what the Lord offers them. Eternal life in Christ is assured, and herein I refer to those who are truly saved, and since they know this assurance, they see no need to leave the majority of the world behind, some things indeed change in their lives, but the majority of their time is still spent in the pursuits of the transitory, in the things that will not last, that have few eternal values. This is where the lost can be found, and it is no place for a Christian to take up permanent residency, this is not our home.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing,” (Psalm 2:1) because they know there is more, they know who is offering what they are searching for, and they hate Him for it. They believe they are good enough, that they should have only their good works looked at that they perform, that they are hardworking, self-motivated, dedicated individuals who should be rewarded for their efforts. Grace has no place in the heart of the lost, the ability to perform the tasks set before them is what they see as important, to be able to obtain the pleasures from their endeavors is what seems right to them, and this continuous searching will not allow them to understand that the gift of God through Christ has been paid in full. If we remain on the spiritual topic of the lost, those who will die in their sins, those who also were made in the image of God, then we can compare them quite easily to any religious organization that claims that the work that Christ did on the cross was not enough, some deed must be performed by us also if we expect to enter into His Glory.
But the natural man, (1 Cor. 2:14) the brute beast, (2 Peter 2:12) gives little thought to the eternal, here is all that matters, produce and consume. There is not only one reason why they exist, there are indeed several, I believe that we will never know definitely why the Lord allows these souls to continue on this path, but I believe what I have just stated, without them we could never be a good Samaritan, we would never be able to pray for those who persecute us, (Matt. 5:44) we would never be able to comprehend what our Lord did on the cross for those that will hate Him for all eternity.
Pray for the lost, serve them in humility and love, reach out to them, their end is not assured until they take their final breath, they may not listen, they may mock and ridicule you, they may cause you to suffer, but they serve a purpose, our purpose is to love them, and tell them of the One who loves them also. Always remember, He died for them too. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
