To Seek and Save the Lost

Think with me about the concept of God's everlasting arms.  Here are the words of Deuteronomy 33, beginning in verse 26:
26"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.27The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!'28Then Israel shall dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew.
Verse 27 - He is our refuge and He holds us by His everlasting arms, and He can bring us into a place of safety in Him, no matter how endangered we may feel.   We're told in Scripture that His arms are mighty to save, and I believe that His arms are open wide, reaching out to us as He calls our name.  
God specializes in finding and saving the lost and fixing the broken - when we feel we have lost our way, we can trust in Him to get our lives back on track, to place us on the firm foundation of His love.   He is reaching out to each one of us, knocking at our heart's door, calling us to a deeper level of obedience and a closer relationship with Him each day.   He has come to seek and save those who are outside the Kingdom and to enable those of us who are saved to grow in Him.

In Luke 15, Jesus relates a series of parables about His ability to seek and save the lost:
4"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'7I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.8"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?9And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'10Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

It's just really frustrating to lose something, isn't it?    Sometimes it may be a temporary loss, such as maybe putting your car keys somewhere and then having to backtrack to find them.   Or, it could be something a bit more significant, such a jewelry that has been misplaced, or even finding that you have left a purse or wallet somewhere that you've been.   You rack your brain and retrace your steps, but to no avail.  

Well, cell phone manufacturers and providers certainly know that you don't want to lose your cell phone, and through the magic of GPS technology, you are told that you can actually trace your phone to a specific location if somehow you are separated from it (and boy, do we not like to be separated from our smartphones these day?).   That sounds all fine and good, but don't try to sell Wayne Dobson of Las Vegas on the benefits...

A report from ABC News tells us that In the first two years that Dobson lived in his one-story home with his wife, five people--all missing their cell phones--came knocking on his door, demanding that he return their handsets. The report says that Dobson put up a sign outside his door that reads, "No lost cell phones!! This location gives a false 'phone locator' position due to a cell tower behind this home. Please contact the North Las Vegas Police and file a report."

Once, four men who Dobson described as "young" pounded on his door at around 2:30 a.m., shouting for him to return their phone. One of the men had a tablet with a tracking application, pointing to Dobson's home. He's had the police come out to his home responding to a 911 call when nothing is going on. Some say it's his proximity to a tower that's to blame, others say it's a problem with the provider. Interestingly enough, there are reports of other people that have been sent to the wrong location through a false GPS reading.

Well, I do believe and have experienced that when something is lost, we should pray and ask God to direct us to find the item, and it reminds us that God does specialize in reclaiming those whose souls are lost.   Consider the parables in Luke 15.   Jesus shared the story of the man who had lost one sheep out of a 100 and how diligent he was to seek it out, and how happy he was to find it.   He also told about the woman with the lost coin.  And, in the same chapter, He talks about the prodigal son, who lost his way and was brought back into the fold.

God loves each of us, and if you are saved, you can be thankful that God sought you out and brought you into His kingdom.   If you do not have a relationship with Christ, you can know that Jesus died for you and is calling to you, knocking on your heart's door to accept Him as your Savior.   If you have lost your way, He is the One who can restore you and set your feet on solid ground.   When we have drifted apart from God, He is capable of bringing healing and restoration.   

When we feel lost or disconnected, far apart from God, we can know that His loving arms are continuing to reach out to us, to set our feet back on solid ground, to pour into our hearts a sense of love and belonging, to cleanse us from that which separates us from Himself, and to give us abundant life.   He is the One who has come to seek and save the lost.