6-12-2020

Good Morning All, 

    Luke 15:4; “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”

    Have you ever been in a store or in a park and have your child disappear?  You know, just wander off or not keep up.  It can be very frightening to lose track of a small child.  Even if just for a few minutes, it can seem like hours.  The frantic looks, the calling of a name, asking strangers if they saw anything, the search and then the eventual finding.  For those few minutes, all sorts of things go through your mind.  Where did he go?  Did someone take him?  He was right there two seconds ago, how could he get so far away? 

   The sheer panic can be amazing.  Fear like you have never felt pours over you.  You do things, in a moment, that may seem wrong later.  Do you leave the other two kids with the cart and go looking for him?  Do you try to find a store clerk?  Where do you turn first?  You know if you go left, he probably went right.  Each second means he is a few feet farther away and he could turn down a different aisle.  He gets farther and farther away.  You are losing control because you cannot see him.  What exactly was he wearing?  Did he have a cap on?  Complete fear can set in very quickly. 

    But then, you see him.  He is looking at the candy in the checkout aisle two down from you.  You run to him, pick him up and hug him tight.  You want to punish him but the joy of finding him and getting him back unharmed means so much more.  You close your eyes and say a prayer of thanks. 

     This is what the verse is about, finding the lost.  Seeking the lost one before he is so far gone that we can never get him back.  Finding him is so joyful; there is singing throughout the land.  God seeks the lost.  When he finds them, there is celebration in heaven.  The angels rejoice when just one is found; think about the joyful noise when it is five or six.  Just as you can envision the parent’s joy when they find their child, God’s joy is even greater!  God, who created you, has now found you and redeemed you back into his family; you are his. 

     No matter what has/is/will happen in your life; God always seeks you out.  We deserve to be punished but God comes to us with love and grace.  Nothing we do will ever drive God away from us; he will seek you out and there will be joy in heaven when you are found.  The God of mercy will never stop looking for you.  He will never abandon you.  He will never tire of looking for you and he will never stop calling your name, calling you to come home.  He will search for you your entire life.  His mercy never ends.

Gracious Father, you have searched for me many times.  Many times, I have wandered off; many times, I have been enticed and tempted to leave your side.  Forgive me when I stray.  Keep me close to you.  Give peace to those who are straying now and are lost from your grace.  Bring them home with all the joy of heaven.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret