Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep in the 18th chapter of Matthew.  A man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray.  He comments, “Does the man not leave the 99 and go in search of the one that went astray?  What do you think?”

On the one hand, the odds are not in favor of leaving 99, perhaps at great risk, and going to save just one.  Jesus goes on to say that the man rejoices over the one who is lost and found more than the 99 who never went astray.  SO…every single person is important to Jesus.  And Jesus wants every single person in the Kingdom.  Jesus died for every single person.

I was 16.  On the day I got my driver’s license, I could finally drive without a licensed driver in the front seat.  I was so excited!  I was to drive my Aunt and my Mom to the store and of course, they were to ride in the back seat!  I opened the back door behind the driver’s seat for them to get into the car.  They delayed in coming out of the house, so I finally decided to go ahead and back out the car.  I looked over my right shoulder and put the car in reverse.  I was backing out of the garage when I heard a crunch.  I turned around and the back car door had caught on the edge of the garage opening and now was bent all the way around to the front door.  OH NO!  I couldn’t believe what I had done!  I ran into the house and hid in the back of my closet and cried.

My Dad came to find me.  He crawled into the back of the closet, sat down beside me, put his arms around me, and dried my tears.  Here is my sketch of what that looked like and felt like…

Lost and found!  Jesus asks us, “What do you think?”  Maybe it does not always make the most sense.  But, if we are the one who is lost, it is a gift beyond measure!  Jesus is always about the least and the lost.  Jesus is always about coming to find us.  The very name Jesus means Savior.

I am sitting in the back of that closet and I feel so lost and sad and alone.  But someone loves me enough to come and find me, to be with me, to love me unconditionally.  Wow!  What do you think?

Pondering…

Have you ever been lost?

What do you think about the story Jesus tells?

nk