Lost and Found

When my youngest sister was 3 years old, we lost her in the mall. Dad thought she was with me, Mom thought she was with Dad, I was busy enjoying my ice cream to even notice her missing and my two other siblings were busy racing each other. Only when we reached the car did we realize that she was nowhere to be found. We retraced our steps and frantically looked for her. Panic stricken, we searched every inch of the mall for her. She was too young to ask for help and she was small enough to be kidnapped. We finally found her at the food court oblivious to the fact that she was lost. Dad was so relieved to see her that he gave her a bear hug and carried her all the way back to the parking.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. (Luke 15:4-6, NIV)

Jesus came to seek and save the lost -- sinners. When we don't obey God, we stray away from His presence. We spend time in the wilderness struggling to survive. But no matter how far away we have deviated from God's plan for our lives, no matter how deep we are in sin and no matter how lost we may be, Jesus came to seek each and every one of His children so He can carry us all home. He disregarded the fact that in exchange of our coming home, He needed to sacrifice His life. How do you respond to that?

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. (Luke 19:10, NIV)

We must first admit that we're lost so we can find salvation.

‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:6-7, NIV)