I think I am feeling my age lately. I put something down and then forget where I put it. My cell phone is a prime example. I can lose track of it about two times a day, and make a frantic search for it. I guess that shows two things; one; I am too addicted by it, and two;my concentration is hit or miss these days.
Have you ever been there? That frantic search for that one thing you have misplaced? You begin by looking in the usual places and then the search intensifies and you begin looking in weird places, like your closet, your washing machine, your car, your neighbors car, your attic or storage place. All the while you are constantly muttering under your breath ” I just had it, it was right here!, where did I set it down?” And the most interesting statement of all; “It couldn’t have just disappeared!”
And then. We find it, not too far away, but in an obvious place where we placed it, and we feel relief. We might even feel a bit silly for becoming so frantic, when it was there all along, we just didn’t see it. It was obvious, but not to us. But, we always feel proud of ourselves when we finally find our lost treasure, as if we knew it was there and this frantic search had all been a game. But, in the moment, we were panicked, if we would admit it.
I ran across an interesting passage this week from the Book of John, that prompted me to think about finding lost things. To me it seems that if we must find something, then it must be something that is missing, or lost. So, as I was reading John chapter one, I noticed a passage that I hadn’t really thought much about; until now that is.
John 1:41 is that passage. In it John describes Andrew and another of John the Baptist’s followers declaring that they had found the Messiah. The messiah, the long awaited savior and deliverer of the Jewish people (and of the whole world). But, they, being Jewish, were focused primarily upon the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament. But, what I found interesting, is their declaration that THEY had found him as they went to tell Peter, Andrew’s brother. Keep in mind, they had heard John the Baptist’s declaration earlier that this was the Lamb of God, and were probably near by when John baptized Jesus. If you read further on in chapter one, you will find that Jesus is the one who finds the rest of His team, His disciples.
I doubt that Jesus was caught unaware by being “found” by Andrew. Two verses over, (verse 43) of the same chapter, Jesus “Finding Phillip, He said to him, ‘follow me’.”(NIV) I guess my question is this; do we believe that we find God, or that He finds us? I choose the latter. We might go through our own spiritual journeys that hopefully end up at the feet of Jesus, but I firmly believe, that it is God who draws us to Himself through the Holy Spirit.
We sometimes don’t realize how we are the “lost” item that God is finding, Although, He knows exactly where we are, nothing escapes His knowledge. We might try to say, like Andrew and the other disciple, that we “found Jesus, the Messiah, but He had us in mind all along. And when we are found, He keeps us. -God Bless You- Nancy
Moving Forward 