We all know what it’s like to be lost.  We can’t find our way and we feel stranded, frustrated, and maybe a hint of anger, because we have to correct it.  What to do?  If we’re driving, we pull into a service station, recalculate our GPS, or roll down the window and ask the driver next to us.  The point is we don’t want to be lost for all kinds of reasons.  Staying lost is not comfortable especially when getting to a particular place is paramount.

Well, God found us to love and invites us into his life.  God invites: “You are my people, and I am your God.”  Yet, at times, we get lost trying to be God’s people.  And this happened immediately from creation’s start.  Adam and Eve tried first, but that untouchable fruit tree was just too tough to avoid.  Taking one bite, they found themselves lost.  This trend continues even now!

What causes our getting lost in answering God’s summons after our enthusiastic beginning?  Often its life’s distractions, tiredness, routine boredom, problems at home or on the job, money matters, or any unexpected surprises to name a few.  Any of these can steer us in a different direction where we find ourselves lost.

God has great foresight and he saw this coming. He doesn’t want us to panic.  God loves us too much to get angry and stay angry.  Instead, God would rather help and give us the solution for our confusion.

This is what makes God so caring.  He can put aside judgments about why we got lost and immediately help get us back on track.  Isn’t that the way it should be?  If we love someone, we can’t judge their whole life by one simple mistake. God knows the last wrong decision that got you lost isn’t the whole you.  You are more than your last abysmal blunder.  Our God always sees the whole you and wants the whole you found.

God’s son, Jesus, acts in the same manner.  He came to save everyone who listens to him.  He wants no one lost and everyone to be found.  God sent his son Jesus to show everyone the truthful way back.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is his Father’s voice and has the Father’s message to lead the way.

In fact, Jesus declared: “If one sheep gets lost, I will leave the remaining ninety-nine to search for it.”  Jesus never counts the cost to himself.  His thoughts are always about us, because being found is of utmost importance to him.

To describe this importance, Jesus uses the beautiful image of the poor widow who lost money in her home.  She searched until she found it.  Afterwards, she was so happy, she threw a party for all her friends.  Jesus ended his story saying, “It’s like this in heaven when someone lost is found.”

Don’t you wish we could  respond in our lives to people who disappoint us and become lost just as God and his son do?  We can if we too remember why we love them.  Letting the answer to that question simmer within us for a while may open our hearts to finding them too.

Hearing the words, “I miss you” from the right person is very healing.

-Anonymous