Lost and Found--From Cell Phones to Souls

After leaving a hotel, my husband realized he had left his cell phone charger plugged in the room. Thirty minutes later, we returned to the hotel to retrieve it. The room had been cleaned and no charger was in sight. The manager said not to worry it was probably in the lost and found room. My husband followed the man down to a storage room. When the door was opened, my husband was astounded by the magnitude of items. Shelves and shelves of cords and chargers were displayed.

My husband was overwhelmed. The manager pointed him to a specific area in the middle of the chaos. So the search began until he finally found a charger that fit his phone. He told the manager he wasn’t sure if it was the one that belonged to him or not. The manager didn’t     mind. He was just happy one had found a home.

My husband could not stop talking about this room chocked full of lost items and finding a charger in the midst of the sea of cords. It reminded me of all the “finding” I read in John 1.

There was a man named Andrew who found Jesus and asked him where he was staying because he wanted to hear more of what Jesus was saying. Jesus told Andrew, “Come and you will see.”

After Andrew found Jesus, the next thing Andrew did was go and find his own brother Simon (Peter) and he took him to Jesus.

The next day, Jesus found Philip. Jesus told Philip to follow him.

Philip went and found Nathanael. He told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth—the son of Joseph.”

Nathanael was a little surprised and asked if anything good could come from Nazareth.

Philip simply said, “Come and see.” 

That’s a great deal of “finding” in just ten verses. Jesus came to where Andrew was first. Then Andrew found Jesus. He then shared his enthusiasm with his brother. The next day Jesus found Philip. Philip shared the good news with Nathanael. There’s as much sharing in this story as there is finding!

 

However, how often do we share our salvation experience, our joy and hope with others?  Quite often we get stuck on the “Me and Mine” path. We want our children and our family to be saved. Our goal becomes to get me and mine to heaven. 

Understandably, like Andrew, the first people we share our joy with are family members. Yes, we should train and aim our children towards Christ. We pray earnestly for family members to see their need for Christ and that God will draw them to Him.

 

 

But what about the little girl that lives in the undesirable neighborhood around the corner? What about the quiet co-worker who keeps to himself, or the loud, obnoxious student we avoid in the hallway? Or the old man with ragged clothes who sits at the gas station every day? What about those who already have their own god? Or those who have faith enough to believe there isn’t One?

Who will find them?

I was unworthy of the King of Kings coming to find me. But He did. Not only did He love me enough to find me, He loved me enough to die for me. How can I not allow Jesus to use me to show others the way to Him? Yes, I want me and mine to be saved but there’s a world chockfull of people who have gone astray. It’s overwhelming how many are lost in the entanglement of sin.

Who will I go find this week to tell about Jesus? Who will you go and find?

 

It's not always an easy task. But if you ask Him, the Manager will point the way.

He and all His angels rejoice when each one is found.