“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”
Have you ever gotten lost? I don’t expect you to answer out loud, but just ponder the question in your head. Not to appear sexist, but I know this is a difficult question for some of us men. I don’t usually like to admit if I’m lost. Perhaps I have simply unintentionally taken a “scenic route.” With our smartphones and our navigation devices, getting lost isn’t the same as it used to be. Though I am familiar with my phone, when I fail to abide by the directions, the phrase is repeated: “Re-routing! Re-routing!” It’s difficult for teenagers to even comprehend what it was like when we had to look up directions using an actual map, and figure out how to get somewhere BEFORE we hop in the car.
Okay, so maybe we have a mixed perspective on “getting lost,” but have you ever LOST something? No, I’m not referring to that time when your children may have wandered off in a store and you experienced 90 seconds of sheer panic when you couldn’t immediately locate them, only to notice suspicious shoes sticking out from a clothes rack. Have you ever lost an item? “I can’t find my homework?” “Mom, where are my AirPods?” “Do you remember where I put my keys?” “I can’t find my phone!”
What do you do when you lose or misplace something, << Test First Name >>? Does your brain force you to search and search until you can locate it, not able to rest until you do? Or, are you more of a, “It’ll turn up sometime, it has to be around here somewhere” kind of person? In our Scripture passage for this coming Sunday from Luke 15, Jesus tells a parable about a woman who has lost a coin. She doesn’t ignore it. She doesn’t wait for it to “turn up.” She searches diligently until the coin is found. Then, she even celebrates its retrieval with her friends.
What does it feel like to be lost? What does it feel like to lose something? What does it feel like when you found it again? Send me your stories. Tell me about your own experiences. What does this have to do with God’s kingdom?
I hope to hear from you.
Very truly,
Pastor Adam
Comments