“I once was lost . . .” Have you ever been lost? I was lost in an apartment complex last week trying to go and see my friend Jim who is very ill. Years ago, I was lost in Pineville, Louisiana trying to get to Louisiana College. My friend Wayne and I drove through the same roundabout seven times, or so it seemed.
Luke tells us that Jesus told stories about things lost: a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. Coins are not willful, but sheep and kids sometimes are. Have you ever thought about the Shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep to go and look for the one who left? What was he thinking?
For one eventful year, my family lived in Maryland, just outside Andrews Air Force Base. Our family had a Bassett Hound named George. Sir George Brooks had traveled with us to Germany and come back home with us to the Washington D. C. area. Like all of my dogs, he never returned when off-leash. George escaped and I pursued him trying to catch him. At one point he walked out into a lake and started swimming across. I returned home and told my dad, “George is gone.” My dad, perhaps looking back on his boyhood searches for lost cows, sent me back to the lake and said, “Don’t come home without George.” I don’t know if dad really meant that, but he sounded serious. I found George and brought him home. Dad was glad to see us.
We all get lost sometimes. Isn’t it wonderful to know that our Father never gives up on us? Jesus, the Good Shepherd came looking for lost sheep and laid down his life to save us. We once were lost. It is so nice to be found.
