Lost and Found

Today I had a Jesus parable type experience. Last week one of our dogs (Jasmine, the insane little rat terrier) ran off. It was cold and we thought the worst might have happened when we called the pound, etc. and she wasn't around. My wife and kids were upset, and I was too (mostly the kicking myself kind of if I'd only done this, this, or this she wouldn't have run off...) but I had come to almost resigning myself to the fact that she was gone. Bear was still here to be my dog and fulfill that need, right?

But, today my wife called the pound again and they said that they did have a little terrier. She didn't want to go look in case it wasn't our little Jasmine because she didn't want to deal with the disappointment if it wasn't. So, I ran down to the animal shelter to see if it was Jasmine or not. As they led me back I wasn't getting my hopes up, but all of a sudden in that next cage was a very happy to see me little dog with her tail wagging, jumping at the gate trying to get to me. It was a happy moment, because I had missed the little ball of insanely energized fur. I brought her home and my wife cried (because that's what she does...) but my son Gavin said we needed to have a party. It put me in mind of some of the things Jesus said.

Jesus talked about things being lost and found several times, culminating in what we call the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But, in each story it goes something like this: something/someone is lost; the person who has lost searches with all their energy and passion to find that which they lost; when they find it they celebrate with everyone around them because it's too good to not share. The stories range from a coin, a lamb, to a son. Each has worth and is to be sought after. But, each story ends with sharing what was found because finding it was too good to let sit just with themselves. I find myself sitting here thinking about the why. What is so huge about finding a coin, a lamb, or a lost dog? What makes it something worth sharing? Why is it something powerful?

The power, hugeness, and reason we share is that in finding something important to us when it's lost we're experiencing for a moment the same feelings God has when we come to be found by Him. Sharing a feeling with God is an extremely powerful thing, especially when it is something God is extremely passionate about. I mean, how much passion must God have for finding the lost if He was willing to give up the life of His own Son to find the lost? So, next time you lose something, rejoice in its finding knowing that God rejoices even more when someone who is lost is found...

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