Lost and Found

Honey, just stop and ask directions. No way am I asking directions if this has been suggested by my wife. I am adequate I keep repeating to myself as I get us more lost. On my last trip to Ammon, Jordan I took a long walk as I often do when I travel. Only this time I didn't pay close enough attention to detail and soon wondered how to get back to point of origin. One Jordanian I asked for directions thought he was funny by addressing me as "cowbooey." Having had facial cancer, I have to wear a sun hat. Cowbooey did not receive favorable directions from Jordanian Leno. This event got me to thinking.

If one doesn't acknowledge his lostness, does he still qualify as lost? Is lost a state of awareness?
If I were still out on the streets, wondering around, and trying on my own to get back, refusing to acknowledge my predicament, would I be lost?

Lostness seems as much to do with someone else as it does with one's denial or acknowledgment of lostness. Think about it in the context of relationship. A child strays from home and is unaware of the circumstances and a mother and father are panic stricken over their missing child. An old man, long lost to himself, wonders away from his alzheimers center and those responsible for his care immediately notify the police.

The point is, one's lostness is not simply determined by an individual. Those in relationship often feel the anguish when that which is lost has not considered his immediate state. "Why don't you stop and ask directions?" "I know where I'm going and I know how to get there."

Jesus told stories of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. In each case the lostness was felt by those in relationship regardless of the actions of the lost. The sheep was lost to the shepherd, the coin was lost to its owner, the son was lost to his father. Rightly understood, man was the crowning moment is all of God's creative display...the object of God's love. We wander. We go our own way and refuse to acknowledge our wrong turns. With all the love of a father for a child, God continues a tireless and determined pursuit to bring us home.

The old song writer had it right when he penned the hymn, "Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go."