Lost things; Lost people

Have you ever lost an item that you care about? Maybe your keys, wallet, cell phone? Perhaps a check or some folded up cash? Do you notice what happens once something is lost?

Everything stops.

Nothing else matters.

You start searching. You start asking. You start doing everything you can to find it.

Now, more importantly, what happens when your child goes missing? Let me tell you about a time when I lost Lydia, our daughter. We were on a family vacation and staying in a hotel. Lydia ran ahead of us to push the elevator button and I thought she was going to wait till we all got inside the elevator together.

She did not wait.

I looked at her.

She looked at me.

The elevator doors came together.

I quickly pressed the button to get the elevator back, but knew she was gone. I went directly to our floor and ran to our room, hoping she’d recall our floor and room number. She was nowhere to be found. I went to the next floor and she was not there.

I went to the next floor and thankfully, there was Lydia standing with a sweet couple who found her alone and knew she was lost.

I hugged and kissed her, thanked and even hugged the couple. After they left, fueled by a combination of love and fearful adrenaline, Lydia and I had a pretty intense daddy-daughter moment and I told her to never do that ever again.

Later, back at the room, Lydia said to me,

“I knew you’d come looking for me. I knew you’d find me.”

In Luke 15, there are some great parables that describe what Jesus came to do. He came to seek and save that which is lost. But before the stories are even told, we get this eye-opening line in Luke 15:1-2

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.

This man is Jesus. He wanted to be around sinners. He wanted to be around “worthy to be found” people. He had a passion to come and seek and save that which is lost. Before I read these famous parables, I first got blown away by this reality:

Jesus ate with sinners. He welcomed them. He cared for them. He wanted to be around them.

Can I say the same thing about my life and passions? Do I eat with sinners? Do I welcome them? Do I wake each day seeking out to save that which is lost?

If I am called to be like Jesus, what needs to change in my life to welcome sinners and eat with them?

From there, we learn about a sheep that has gone astray from the fold. The sheep is alone. The sheep is prone to danger being away from the fold. The sheep is lost and needs a rescue. The shepherd goes after the lost sheep for the ultimate rescue.

The truth: I need to be rescued and so do you. I need to be rescued from my selfishness and pride. I need to be rescued from thinking that I can do life on my own. I need to be rescued from wandering and hurrying away from what God wants for my life.

That's what Jesus came to do. He came to rescue sheep one by one. One person at a time. One family at a time. He came to seek and save that which is lost..

And, He will search till the one is found.