I lost something once.
Okay. I've lost more than one "something" before, but you know what I mean.
This particular something was my wedding ring. I had taken it off to knead some bread dough and stuffed it into my pocket. Later on, when it was time to take the clothes to the laundry room to wash, my ring was still in that pocket. I didn't even realize it was missing until all the laundry had been washed, dried, and put away. With chores done, I went to apply lotion to my dry skin and my fingers felt the void where the ring should be. A sudden panic seized me as the sudden realization of what I had done struck me. I searched the pockets of the now laundered skirt where the ring had been placed earlier in the day and found them to be empty. I rushed to the laundry room and hunted through all the machines I had used and found no ring. I scoured the floors and retraced my paths but did not find the lost ring anywhere. When I returned to the house, Jason asked what was wrong and I had to tell him my bad news. He went to search the laundry room as well and came back with my ring. It was tucked in one of the crevices in the washer! I was so relived, as you can well imagine!
The ring was lost. It was important to me. It was sought after and found.
The Bible says that Jesus did just that for us: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." Matthew 18:11. These words are echoed almost word for word in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
And how many parables did Jesus tell of something that was lost and found?
-Lost sheep (Matthew 18:21-14, Luke 15:4-7). Lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). Lost son (Luke 15:11-24)
When we value something, we do all we can until it is found, just like the missing wedding ring.
Jesus did just that very thing for us. He came to live among men (John 1:14). He came to seek and to save the lost.
It's just like the words in that great hymn, "Amazing Grace" says,
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Now, I may lose my ring again and have to search for it again, but praise the Lord that we don't have to go back to being lost once saved!
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