Lost
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
Henry David Thoreau
Last night, we spent well over an hour looking for a lost item in our house. We searched through our cars. We cleaned out drawers and cabinets. We looked, and we looked, and we looked. I was frustrated and perhaps a little stressed out that we couldn’t find the lost item.
As I was reflecting on our search for this thing we lost, a story from the Bible came to mind:
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10
The woman in the story throws a party after finding her lost coin. Maybe that’s a good idea. If we find our lost item, maybe we should have a party. What do you think?
Actually, the story is referencing something far more meaningful than a coin. The story is meant to remind us how exciting it should be when someone returns to Christ after a “lost” journey. Each month at our church, our family had an opportunity to see this fleshed out when we attend the baptism service at our church for individuals who decided to believe, repent, and be baptized.
Do you want to talk about a reason for celebration? This is it!
Getting back to our lost item, it still hasn’t shown up. I’m sure it’s around somewhere, but we’ll have to keep looking. Oh well. If nothing else, our lost item taught me some lessons along the way. First, always pay more attention when setting down an item you want to locate later. Second, God cares way more about people than things we lose around the house.