Lost and Found

We have been found by Jesus Christ - essentially, He has sought us out and invited us to come to know Him in salvation. In Luke 19, we read the account of how Jesus saw Zacchaeus in a tree, invited him to come down and to follow Him. We can read:
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

In Christ, the lost can be found; those who are far away from God can come to know Him.  We can recognize that He is the One whom we are seeking in order to have hope and peace in our lives, and He is the one who has sought us out, that we may abide in His presence.  And, each day, He calls us to seek His face - to know His love, to have His wisdom and direction, and to honor Him in all that we do. He has made it possible to truly be found in Him.

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Even though our sins will keep us from a right relationship with God, our personal shame and guilt may drive us to try to hide from Him, we know that He loves us and sees us and wants us to come back to Him. Psalm 139 provides this passage:
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

It is a story that captivated the news cycle for a few days - the disappearance of a young lady who was taking a cross-country trip with her fiance and documenting their adventures on social media.  Then, all of a sudden the updates stopped, then a body matching her description was found.  Meanwhile, the boyfriend has not been seen or heard from since.

The search for Brian Laundrie, who has yet to be charged in the case surrounding the disappearance and death of his fiancee Gabby Petito, is ongoing, with much of the attention being centered on a large nature preserve in Florida.  Law enforcement has been involved for weeks, and the announcement came a couple of weeks ago that a well-known person who has gained a reputation for finding and apprehending people who are on the run has entered the process.

That would be Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter.  The Christian Post reported that "Dog and his new wife, Francie, were honeymooning on Marco Island, Florida, when the manhunt began."  That is according to his spokesperson, Jennifer Willingham, who said,"Dog and Francie, who are devout Christians, felt as if their proximity to the search was not a coincidence and they wanted to do something to help the Petito family," adding, "At the same time, Dog's fans were sending him tips and urging him to join the search."  Chapman and those working with him did establish a tip line.

The article, published two weeks ago, stated, "Fox News reported...that the reality star, who joined the search for Laundrie earlier this week, came across a fresh campsite deep in the woods of a Florida park where he and his team found a can of Monster Energy Ultra Gold," but the Post article added:

Despite the find, Dog's team did not find solid evidence that Laundrie is in the woods on Egmont Key, located just southwest of the 1,136-acre Fort De Soto Park. Dog believes that Laundrie is hiding somewhere in the park, which is made up of five interconnected islands.

As far as the most recent information, according to the New York Post, Chapman is at home in Colorado after sustaining an ankle injury in the search - but apparently, he's not done. But, his spokesperson says he still has a team on the ground in Florida. 

Chapman's faith journey has been the subject of articles, especially since the death of his wife, Beth, in 2019.  CBN had reported that he was starring as himself in a faith-based film, called, Hunter's Creed, which the article describes:

The film is set around a man whose wife passes away from cancer, leading him to doubt God and his Christian faith. Chapman admits to questioning why he was going through such a difficult journey, but it never led to rejection or disbelief in the Holy Spirit.

The article said that Chapman told The Christian Post: 

"I never doubted. I don't doubt God at all! The Bible says you're not to know why this stuff happened," he said. "Don't worry, this happened for a reason. So that's what I fall back on. Rather than 'Oh, there's no God, He don't heal no one,' stuff like that, because that's not true."

One of the apparent talking points has to do with trying to find someone who is lost. Spiritually speaking, we were separated from God, essentially, missing from being in His presence. Thankfully, Jesus came to seek and save the lost - He has sought us out, and even when we try to hide from Him, He still knows where we are and desires to bring us into a saving knowledge of Himself.   

Adam and Eve attempted to hide because of their sin, and God called out, "where are you?" That doesn't mean He didn't know the answer, but He challenged them with conviction over their misdeed. We should know where we are spiritually and make sure we are following God's will for us. 

And remember, also, that, just as in the case of Duane Chapman, or Dog, who had faced the loss of His wife, God is near to us in our times of loss. 

One further thing: Duane and his new wife were on a honeymoon in Florida, and saw that placement perhaps as an indication that God wanted to use them in this search, which flowed nicely into his skill set, having apprehended "more than 8,000 fugitives," according to The Christian Post. We can acknowledge that God is moving, He is working, and He may placing us in a position where He can use us for a particular mission.