Lost and Found

You have heard people say, “I found God” or “I found Jesus Christ”. You may even have said it yourself. But God was never lost – we were. He is the one who found us. The powerful worship song Reckless Love describes how relentlessly God pursues us. “There’s no shadow He won’t light up, no mountain He won’t climb up coming after me. There’s no wall He won’t kick down, lie He won’t tear down coming after me. Oh, the overwhelming, never ending reckless love of God. It chases me down, fights till I’m found, leaves the 99.”   Leaving the 99 to find one lost lamb doesn’t make a lot of sense – unless you are that lost lamb. He seeks us out so He can save us from our sins and we can worship and serve Him as we were created to do. Why would the Creator of the Universe search for us like that? The answer is found in that familiar verse, John 3:16. It is because he loves us so much.

God’s loving search began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was the first recorded case of hide and seek. God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” I always had trouble understanding why an omnipotent God didn’t know where Adam was hiding. He knew! I heard somewhere that the Hebrew could have been translated, “Why are you where you are?” Of course God knew the answer to that as well, but He wanted Adam and Eve to admit their disobedience and their shame. God never asks a question to get information. He is the source of all knowledge. He asks questions to get us to realize our situation and our need for Him.

Once He found them in sin and disobedience, death entered the Garden for the first time as God sacrificed an innocent animal and used the hide to cover their nakedness and shame. That was the first of countless sin offerings to temporarily cover man’s sin from God’s sight. Then, in due time, God presented His Son as the perfect, innocent and permanent sacrifice for our sins. Even now He continues to call to us and chase after us to get us to admit our disobedience and accept Jesus’ sacrifice.

I am so grateful that 64 years ago this summer God found me and covered my heart with the sacrificial blood of Jesus. I celebrate that event every time I see someone else realize that they have been found and brought into the fold by our loving Shepherd.

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