Lost and Found

One day Jesus was criticized by religious insiders for hanging out with irreligious outsiders.  In response, he crafted three stories – one of which is one of his best known (Luke 15).  All three are lost and found stories, with each describing great joy when whatever was missing was brought back.

Lost.  Sheep aren’t the brightest of God’s creatures.  They produce wool, and prepared correctly can provide a delicious entrée, but that doesn’t make them smart.  Sometimes people are just like sheep.  They wander away from the source of their food and security into the wild.  Perhaps they are drawn to a good looking patch of weeds.  Their focus is the weeds, and they don’t even realize the danger they’re in until it’s too late.  They could be totally lost, with no way of knowing how to get back to the flock.  They could be attacked.  They could fall off a cliff.  Somebody could BBQ them.

Sometimes we are like sheep, and wander away, focused on something we think is worth the risk.

Coins are even dumber than sheep!  They don’t even have brains.  They just get lost.  Sometimes pockets have holes, and the owner doesn’t even know they’ve lost anything until much later.  Sometimes people are like that.  Nobody tries to lose connection with them, it just happens.  People slip through the cracks in our lives, and we don’t even notice until we realize their absence.  Then we miss them.

Sometimes we are like those coins.  For whatever reason, we got left in the sofa cushions, and didn’t get noticed until it hurt that we didn’t get noticed.

Sons are pretty smart compared to sheep and coins.  But sometimes their superior reasoning ability gets the best of them, and they find themselves doing things that manipulate others into doing things for them.  The son let his lust for women and partying move him to offend the dad who had provided so well for him.  Choosing grace, the father gave the son what he wanted.  In a matter of time, the son blew through the entire sum.  His dreams turned into a nightmare.  He was lower than he ever could have imagined.  The father held no anger toward his son.  Rather, he looked with hope and patience toward the direction of his son’s departure, desperately wanting to see his silhouette once again.  Full of self-loathing, the son finally summoned the courage to return, no longer as a son, but hoping to become a slave.

Sometimes we are sons.  We use everything we have for very selfish ends, and find ourselves very alone when it all runs out.  We don’t feel entitled to anything at that point.

Found.  When the shepherd found the sheep, there was great joy to be found.  But let’s not miss the obvious: the shepherd went looking for what was lost.  He noticed, he cared, he went, and he kept going until he found what went missing.

Somebody was a shepherd for us, and if you’re reading this, they were successful.  Somebody else needs you and me to be like the shepherd and seek them in their lost-ness.  Who sought you?  Who are you seeking?

The woman, when she found her coin, threw a great party.  But let’s not miss the obvious: the woman looked and looked and looked until she found the coin.  She noticed what was missing, cared, and began searching diligently until she found it.

Somebody was the woman for us.  Somebody noticed and cared and came looking for us.  If you are reading this, they were successful.  Somebody you know is like the missing coin, needing you to look in some sofa cushions for them.  Who sought you?  Who are you seeking?

One day the father’s dream came true – he saw the appearance of his son.  But when he got there, the son did not know he was still a son.  The father then searched for his finest robe and signet ring, fully restoring his son to his place in the family.  He risked losing his investment again.  But he believed more in grace and love than in judgment and wrath.

Somebody was the father for us.  They saw beyond our self-loathing to our true identity – a person made in the image of God – and invested in that.  Somebody you know needs you to be the father to them.  They cannot see past their past without your help.  Without you, they will continue in their downward spiral.  With you, there is hope.

Of course, Jesus lived his life just like the shepherd, the woman, and the father.  He was modeling what is true of God, who does the same.  Jesus was famous for saying to people, “Follow me!”  I believe he is still saying it to you and me, wondering if we will recognize that while God has always been pursuing us, he worked through the hands and hearts of people we know to move us from the “lost” to the “found” category.  I believe Jesus is calling us to still follow him, to be the hands and feet and hearts that recognize who is lost, care about them, and move out to gain them back.

If not us, who?

We are the people who don’t give up on people.  We are the people who offer hope to anybody, because we really believe that God is big enough to redeem anyone.

We believe that we were the lost ones once who were at some point found.  If it weren’t for someone, we’d still be lost.  Who will we be the one for?