Discovered

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." - Matthew 18:12-14

Today I want to talk about the lost and found. I've been in both. Found is more fun than lost, though being found does not guarantee never getting lost again. When I'm found I have a better sense of where I am, of where I'm going or, gasp, where I've been. Found is a place, that's all. Like any other place the most it can ever offer is perspective. What we see when we're there is rooted in the eyes by which we see, which is often influenced by the lenses of what we believe.

When I'm found I notice my kids and my wife more. I'm more patient and attentive. I help with the homework or the bath, I make my famous grilled cheese sandwiches (which Anthony claims are even better than Foster Freeze, though I'm not sure that ranks as a compliment) and I'm calmer, less prone to my "bull in a china shop" persona. Found is a happy place. I realize that I'm not alone there and, well, God is more visible.

When I'm lost? Well, that's a different story. Lost is a place like no other because it's a place between places. You're not really "anywhere". You're just "there". On road trips you end up lost when you're going from one place to the next and forget the way. But on the journey of life you mostly end up lost because you have forgotten the why. There are many why's. Why am I here? Why am I alone? Why am I afraid? Why can't I figure it all out? The why's multiply and are so thick that you can arrive at lost and...well...get stuck there.

When you're lost the single, most important thing to remember is that you're worthy of being found. Scripture tells us that to God you are worth searching across the ends of the earth for. He's searching for you right now. He's waiting for you to be ready to leave the "why's" behind and rest in a whole new place that's neither lost nor found but, even better, a place that's called "discovered".

Run the Miles and Earn It

There was a time in my life when I would've demanded to be heard. Straight up. I would've bullied my way into the presence of those that "needed" straightening out with a tyrannical intensity. Self-confidence (read: arrogance) was not a problem for me. You either ended up agreeing with me or you were an idiot. I was so passionate in my beliefs that there simply was no room for yours. I had it all figured out. Life was a zero-sum game; somebody wins and somebody loses. I had no desire to be a loser.

I don't know about you but when I read the bible I see a lot of my past self in a number of people. Certainly in the early Paul (I would've been there, full of self-righteousness, to judge Stephen because, well, he would've dared to disagree with me) and again in Peter (when Judas showed, with his cadre of Roman soldiers, I too would've done a quick survival assessment and cut my losses, even if that loss was Christ) and most certainly in Thomas (I've often asked for proof in the place of faith, because it's a hard world that wants hard answers).

God knows this about me. These men are my mile markers in the bible. For some of you it's Solomon and James. Others of you will identify more with Ruth and the woman at the well and still others will find a lot of yourself in Luke and the prodigal son.  In all the many individuals of the bible there is someone for everyone, and that's the point. How could the word of God speak to each of us if there, inside it, weren't a little bit of us too? But in recognizing your mile markers do not miss the point: you are running a marathon and when the race is done there's only one person you should identify with the most and that person is Jesus.

Jesus wasn't about winning or losing, he was about doing and struggling. And Jesus never demanded to be heard. He earned that right. I think he expects us to earn it as well, a little bit more, each and every day. How? By sharing in the lives of all those around you and being there whenever there is hurt. If Jesus proved nothing else it's that there's not a hurt in the world that cannot be loved away.

A Simple Question

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

What are you doing with your life? I mean, really doing with it? What do you represent to those around you? Do you represent desperation and defeat? Do you represent assurance and victory? Is what you became what you expected to become? Or is life just happening to you, like a movie?

On any given day I know what I can represent: all the above. Some days I stride around surrounded by a shield of humbling and empowering faith. Other days I can barely put one foot in front of the other.  I can't speak for other faiths but I know that in Christianity the struggle is what it's all about. Because only the struggle of this world can lead you to Christ. One cannot be "saved" unless they are in need of saving. Who needs saving? The desperate, those in pain, those who are lonely and confused, those who are lost.

Last time I checked, on any given day? That's you and me.

The difference between the "saved" and the "not yet saved" is not a position of dominance, superiority or righteousness. Quite the contrary; it's a position of submission. It's not saying "Oh, I'm past all those forks in the road and I know where I'm going now" as much as it's about saying, "Man, I get lost too, but I have a map now. I have a compass." I am now called to serve, not preach, to help, not judge. Sadly, many of the Christians who get all the press are either promising people prosperity or damning them to hell. In other words, instead of worshiping God they're playing God.

Jesus washed the disciples feet. He loved. He forgave. He listened. He helped. He came and he left but whether it was with the woman at the well, or with the Pharisees, with countless strangers or within his own inner circle of disciples, he seemed to be asking the same question over and over again: What are you doing with your life?

So today, will you take the time to answer him?