A God Who Seeks the Lost
Have you ever felt lost? Lonely? Forgotten? Or like you don’t quite belong?
You’re not alone. Every one of us has felt that way at some point. I know I have.
Sometimes those feelings come from the way others treat us - words spoken, doors closed, or wounds we didn’t see coming. Sometimes they grow out of circumstances we never asked for. And sometimes, if we’re honest, they come from within - from the labels we place on ourselves, the lies we believe, or the paths we’ve taken.
However they begin, the result can feel the same: desperation, a sense of isolation, or a loneliness that we don’t know how to escape. The world can be harsh and unforgiving, and often, we can be just as harsh with ourselves.
When we find ourselves battling these feelings, we can take comfort in the fact that we have a God who seeks the lost.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Scripture is filled with examples of how God cares deeply about the lowly and the lonely, the marginalized and forgotten, both in the Old and New Testaments.
We can see God’s provision for Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl who was driven away from her home in Genesis 16. The Lord appeared to her in the wilderness, encouraging her to return home, where He promised to bless her with many descendants. By doing this, He proved to Hagar that she was seen and not alone.
We see God’s kindness over Leah, Jacob’s unloved first wife, in Genesis 29 and 30. Jacob did not even want to marry Leah, but scripture says that when the Lord saw she was unloved, He enabled her to have children. In fact, Leah became the mother of six of the twelve sons who would go on to form the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Genesis 37-50, we see God’s favor over Joseph, Jacob’s youngest son, who was betrayed, sold into slavery, and wrongfully imprisoned. God delivered Joseph out of his hardships and blessed him with favor and status until he became second in command to Pharaoh, with authority over all of Egypt.
We also see God’s mighty hand on David in 1 and 2 Samuel and throughout the Psalms. David was a simple shepherd boy and the least of his family, but God eventually made him king over all Israel and was a constant presence throughout his tumultuous life.
When Jesus was born on earth, the angels did not announce His birth to kings and lords - they went to shepherds first. Shepherds were on the bottom rung on the social class ladder. Due to the nature of their work with animals, they were often considered unclean by the Jewish community, and as a result were likely were looked down upon.
When Jesus began His ministry, it was to a woman at a well that He first announced that He was the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. This in itself was an unusual choice, because women were culturally considered lower in status than men at the time. It was not customary for men, especially men considered to be rabbis (or teachers) like Jesus, to approach women in public. To make the matter even more unique, the woman was not even Jewish. She was a Samaritan, and according to John 4:9, Jews didn’t have anything to do with Samaritans; they were not on friendly terms. On top of all that, the woman at the well was likely a social outcast in her own community. She had everything working against her, but none of that made a difference to Jesus. He saw a woman who was lonely and rejected, someone who needed Him. So out of all the people He could have told, Jesus chose to share the amazing news of His arrival with her first.
In all these cases and more, God sought out these individuals in their lowest moments, when they felt most lost. The beauty of the Lord is that He didn’t stop with the people whose stories are shared in the Bible. He still comes to the lost and forgotten today, and He will never stop doing so because we are all precious to Him.
When Jesus walked the earth, He often spoke in parables; relatable, symbolic stories that everyone could understand no matter their education level or social status. One of my favorite parables is the Parable of the Lost Sheep (found in Matthew 18:12-14), where Jesus compares God to a shepherd that will leave his entire flock of ninety-nine sheep to find the single sheep that wandered astray. Jesus tells us that when the shepherd finds that lost sheep, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders to carry it back home. There is a similar sentiment in Ezekiel:
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I Myself will search and find My sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find My sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. [...] I Myself will tend My sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for My lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak...”
The Lord tells us that He Himself will search. He will look after us. He will rescue. He will tend. Notice that He does not delegate this work. It is not beyond or beneath Him; we are not a waste of His time, or too messy for Him to deal with. We are not lost causes to Him. He is our Father, and those lost among us are His missing children - whom He will go to the ends of the earth to find.
Another favorite parable of mine, and one that many of us are probably familiar with is the story of the Prodigal Son (found in Luke 15:11-32). In this story, a son asked his father for his inheritance early. The son left his family and his responsibilities to live his life the way he wanted. The problem was that he soon squandered all his inheritance money on a wild lifestyle and found himself broke and homeless. He got a job feeding pigs, which in that time and for a Jewish person, would have been considered the lowest and most despised of occupations. At this lowest point, the son finally decided to return home. He planned to beg his father for forgiveness and ask if he could get a job as a lowly servant in the household. But here’s my favorite part: when the son was a long way off down the road, his father saw him. This implies that the father was watching for his son, waiting for and expecting him to return home. When he saw his son, the father took off running and raced down the road to meet him. Before the son could say a single word, his father threw his arms around him, weeping and rejoicing. He put a ring on his son’s finger and a robe around his shoulders. His father even prepared a great feast to welcome his child home.
This is exactly how the Lord is with us. His arms are not crossed with His back to us. He is not angrily contemplating over how terrible we are, how long we have strayed, or how far we have fallen. No - God is faithfully waiting and watching for us to return to Him, where we belong. And when He sees us, He runs to us. He rejoices over our home coming.
It’s so comforting to know that no matter what happens - if we wander away, or if we feel lonely, forgotten, or rejected - we can have the assurance that our Good Shepherd is always watching and looking for us, and He will not stop until we are safe in His arms.
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Let’s pray together.Lord Jesus, let us never forget Your promises - that You will leave the ninety-nine to come and look for us, the one. When we are feeling like strangers in our own skin, with nowhere to run and no one to turn to, remind us, Lord, that You are always chasing after us. You always come to the marginalized, the lonely, the dejected, and the lost. Let us not stray from Your love, Lord, but chase us down if we should wander away. Overtake us, and hold us close. Thank You for loving us, and never giving up on us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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