The Lost Get Found

Scripture
Deuteronomy 22:1-3 If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything else that he loses. Do not ignore it.

Observation
In the parables of the Lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost (prodigal) son, Christ is illustrating the importance of finding that which has been lost, the value that a lost thing has to it’s owner and the joy experienced and shared once something lost has been found. This section of Deuteronomy is where God begins to instill in the Israelites, through the Mosaic law, the principle of finding and returning to the owner that which was lost. Christ and some of his prolific apostles had a habit of taking the old laws and revealing the principles behind them. Galatians chapter 4 reminds us that we are not a people under the law, but with the mind of Christ we can use God’s principles when we make choices in our lives.

Application
I recently met a man who once lost his daughter at a state fair. He and the rest of his family immediately began searching for her and yelling her name while those around continued in their own family fun and listening to the band and eating their corn-dogs. After-all, the little girl can’t have gone far, and this is a time of fun and family, not to be interrupted by someone else’s problems. Any parent can understand the panic and despair of not being able to find one of their children. It is truly horrifying. Most of us might say, “of course I would drop what I was doing and help these people find their daughter. I would help them find her and rejoice with them once she was found.” But what about God’s lost children? He love’s them and misses them, but they have wandered far from Him and continue to wander farther. Who will find them? Well, the good news is that we already have. We see them in our everyday lives, we work with them and play with them daily. The questions is this, will we bring them back to God; will we keep them until He comes for them? Or will we ignore them?

Prayer
God, please remind me daily of what you brought me out of and that you want the same for those around me. Show me the lost around me and how to return them to you. Just as I would never stop looking for my own lost child, never let me lose my passion for your lost children.

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