Week 43: Lost
Weekly Chapters: Luke 4-19
Passage of the Week:
Luke 15:4
Adjective:
No longer possessed or retained
No longer to be found
Having gone astray
Not used for good purpose
Something that someone failed to win
Ending in defeat, such as a battle
Destroyed or missed
Preoccupied or distracted
Thesaurus:
Absent
Adrift
Disoriented
Hidden
Invisible
Vanished
Misplaced
Forfieghted
Father God,
As we look at the word lost in the many meanings, we cannot help but more clearly understand the word lost and see how it applies to our lives so often. Father God, open my heart to see and hear You and Your desire for my life this week.
Amen
Authentic vulnerability:
One day, my daughter was four; I was on my friend's computer while my daughter and her son played. I'm sure I got lost in some game or chat; I looked up and saw she was gone. My friend's house was on a busy street. Could she have gotten out of the gate? I was freaking out, asking my friend's son where she was; he did not know. I was looking all through the house out of the yard behind the gate. I was frantic.
When she appeared, and I could only think, how could I have been so careless to lose sight of her? But I was overjoyed when she came back to me.
What is your Authentic Truth?
Study:
I remember my panic over losing my daughter: the emotions, fear, terror, and distress in losing her.
When the Pharisee teachers complained about the company that Jesus kept, Jesus shared His feelings in parables to the people. Jesus shared the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7) in which a shepherd will leave the 99 sheep of the flock for the one lost sheep. Jesus says that God finds each of us essential to His flock; one is not greater than the other. We are all chosen even when we go astray, and He will always seek us to bring us back to His flock.
Additionally, Jesus relayed the story of the lost coin in Luke 15:8-10, in which a woman rejoices after finding a lost coin calling her family and friends to help her celebrate. Jesus says that God is Joyous when we return to Him.
Lastly, the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, in which the younger son squandered his future inheritance. He returns to his family, broken down and in despair, returning to his father. The father celebrates the return of his son, rejoicing and celebrating.
Jesus followed the parables' examples. In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus blesses the prostitute who anoints His feet with perfume and wipes His feet with her tears. Jesus told the story of the man who forgave debts (Luke 7:41-42) and asked Simon who would be the most loving after canceling debts, the man forgiven of much debt or the man who owed less? Simon said the man who owed more. And Jesus agreed. Same as the prostitute who had so far to come back from in the eyes of man – she will be grateful forever.
We all are lost, lost to sin, lost to lust, lost to worldly idols. We are all found by God and forgiven by His grace. We are lost metaphorically and sometimes emotionally. We are lost and separated from God by our sins. But God's plan for us, as in the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, or the lost son (Prodigal), is to rejoice when found. God is waiting to celebrate our return to His love and grace.
Father God,
Lord, You are always waiting to welcome me home. Thank You for constantly searching for me. Give me the strength to abide in You so that I can stay in your arms, never to be lost again.
Amen.
Homework:
Think of a time you were lost. For me, it was in my late teens and 20s. Think about those days. Now think about when you were found and the overwhelming love you felt.
Maybe you still feel lost, reach out to God and to others to rejoin the fold (a group of sheep beyond a single sheep is a fold), rejoice in God, and be folded into His love. Reach out to other believers for help. And form a sense of community.
