adjective: discovered after a deliberate search; located, recovered, brought back
Imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: “Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!” Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.
Luke 15:8-10
One of my most vivid childhood memories involves me standing in church next to my mom singing the words to “Amazing Grace”: “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” 8
I remember thinking that I was glad I wasn’t really lost or blind. I wondered why we were singing about that, but I was pretty sure that everybody in those simple wooden Lutheran pews was in agreement that the grace of God was amazing. And that we needed some of it.
Yes, we really did. And we still do. Because we are lost without Jesus. The words of that beautiful old hymn still ring true.
Being lost is one of the worst feelings a human can experience. To be lost from our people, no matter what age we are, is terrifying. All the worst emotions pulse through us at once: panic, the pain of abandonment, confusion, despair… It’s hard to breathe.
Spiritually, though, we don’t always realize when we are lost. We don’t always have a clear indication that we have become separated from our Savior. Maybe, like in my early years of church, we just haven’t learned enough about him yet to know that we want to be found by him. It might be that we were close to him in the past, but now we have gotten distracted and wandered away. Or possibly, the doubts, fears, and circumstances of our lives have caused us to hide from him on purpose.
“I once was lost… ” We all were. Some of us still are. That’s why Jesus comes to find us. He looks everywhere for us, scouring every nook and cranny of the world. He doesn’t give up, having even given his life to recover us, to bring us back to him. And when he finds us? The joy and relief of being found is overwhelming. We get to experience being loved, valued, cared about, and redeemed by him.
Invite Him In
Turn to Jesus. Whether you believe it or not, you mean everything to him. Cry out to him, let him know you are ready to be found. He will find you, and he will bring you back. He’ll save you with his amazing grace.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you that I have been found by you over and over throughout my life. Every time I have wandered away from you, you have brought me back with a celebration of genuine joy and relief. I am so grateful for your amazing grace.
