I once was lost. Were you? There is a circle in Alexandria/Pineville Louisiana, not far from Louisiana College. Two friends of mine and I loaded in my Intrepid AMC Matador to drop one of them off in Louisiana. To be clear, one friend was from Louisiana. We shouldn’t have gotten lost. But we did. Like most men, we kept driving without asking directions. Time and again after a season of driving we returned to that circle. I want to believe having Siri on my phone would have prevented this, but I’m not sure.
Confronted by the Pharisees for his continuous contact with the “lowly” element of society, Jesus told stories about a lost coin, a lost sheep and a lost son. We know the last story best. Or at least we think we do. In each case, Jesus shows inexpressible joy discovered in finding that which was lost. God takes that kind of joy when he finds one of us. Coins do not experience joy. I am suspicious of sheep in this regard as well. But I know people take joy in being found.
My wife has loaded a “tile” on our phones and in several other places, including our daughter’s car. (Shhh! Don’t tell her.) I know it is hard to imagine, but the computer device is a little bit off. So periodically it will say, “Your daughter’s car is lost.” Then as I walk to the window, the phone finds what I already know. “Your daughter’s car has been found.” The one thing we don’t want to lose is people. So a good friend whose wife went home to be with the Lord said, “Nothing is lost, if you know where it is. I know where my wife is. I have not lost her, but I will find her.”
I now am found. Are you? I am. Inexpressible joy!
