L is for ...

... Lost

You know the parables about the lost? Jesus said that rejoicing in heaven over someone who turns to Him was like finding a coin or a lamb or a son that had been lost. (Luke 15) We're the coin, also the sheep and the prodigal son from the same section. But that lost son was different. He was lost to his father, but he also searched for something.

Have you ever lost something? Happens to me all the time because I have the world’s worst memory! No, I’m not kidding. I actually have a white board hanging on my closet door in my office. On it, I list the things that I’m currently looking for because—you guessed it—I’ll forget that I’ve lost them if I don’t write them down.  My most recent loss is my cell phone. I’ve looked everywhere it can possibly be, except wherever it is. Oh, gee. I think I just confessed that I'm a LOSER! 

My sweet hubby dealt with this over the weekend. I’d just gotten him a silver ring at Christmas that he had been wanting. (Yes, he got jewelry at Christmas and I got a cord of wood. What’s wrong with this picture?) The trouble is the size; the ring is a little big. So the other day when he threw the ball for my dog, Captain, the ring flew off of his finger.

Though it neared sunset, all five of us scoured the backyard on hands and knees, searching for his ring. No use. Poor Sweet Hubby was so sick over it. The next day, I and the girls went out in bright sunshine, hoping to find the sparkle. Again, to no avail. Late in the day, Sweet Hubby did yard work in front of the house and our neighbor came over with the ring. It had been flung behind him into their backyard.

Now it wasn’t a coin, but Hubs strained over his ring. We all did everything we could to find it, but we had no chance because we searched in the wrong place. The situation is the same as the boy who left his dad because inside each of us is a need for meaning. A hole that is God-sized. 


Some folks search in the wrong places to fill the hole like that prodigal. They follow the examples around them, aspiring to popularity, purpose, passion, perfection, productivity. Instead, they find poor substitutes. 


Like I said, the hole is God-sized. Even becoming a 100 on Klout or having more Facebook friends or Twitter followers that Justin Beiber doesn't come close to filling that space. That's why some famous people turn to drugs, sink into depression, or attempt suicide. 


All of the other p-words hold the same unsatisfactory conclusion because the things of this short time we have here on earth just don't amount to much when compared with the amazing things of heaven and the eternity we'll have there.


But the person who seeks the Lord will find him when he searches with his whole heart. That's why Jesus told us in Matthew (6:31-34) that the Father knows we need things, but first we need to love Him above all. Everything else will fall into place when we allow God to fill up the God-sized hole that we have inside. Doesn't mean life will be perfect, but it will definitely be satisfying with the finding of your holy filling!