Found

Luke 15:6 – Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep!

Today we revisit the parable of the lost sheep.  In Into the Mess, Debie Thomas writes, “If Jesus’s parables are true, then God isn’t in the fold with the ninety-nine insiders. God isn’t curled up on her couch polishing the nine coins she’s already sure of. God is where the lost things are. God is in the wilderness, God is in the remotest corners of the house, God is where the search is at its fiercest.”  God searches until he finds his sheep.  God never gives up. 

As we look at this parable, we see the shepherd finds his sheep and joyfully carries it home on his shoulders.  Once home he gathers his friends and neighbors to have a party.  Can you imagine, wrestling with questions, getting yourself into sticky situations, deciding you are done with church people then out of the blue there’s God throwing you a party? 

There is so much about God that is left to the realm of mystery, but one thing that is clear is God’s unrestrained, unreserved, wild love for us.  Anne Lamont writes, “You were loved because God loves, period. God loved you, and everyone, not because you believed in certain things, but because you were a mess, and lonely, and His or Her child. God loved you no matter how crazy you felt on the inside, no matter what a fake you were; always, even in your current condition, even before coffee. God loves you crazily.” 

Today if you are feeling a little lost or very lost, I invite you to be open to this God who loves you crazily, who will find and celebrate you over and over again.