I suppose I have found money from time to time, but I also lost it. I can’t really remember finding much else 😄.
I found much more in spiritual terms. I could say, I found Jesus, or I was found myself. Maybe I could just say that I found salvation in Jesus.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see
What else can I say about finding things? I could talk about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Jesus spoke these parables in Luke 15. Let me choose one or two verses from each. All of them speak about how precious his followers are to Jesus.
The Lost Sheep
Luke 15 – The Sheep
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
When I became a Christian, someone reminded me that heaven rejoiced at my conversion. It seemed odd to think that it would, but Jesus said that heaven rejoices when a sinner repents.
The Lost Coin
Luke 15:9-10
9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
This song, A Woman and a Coin, covers all three of the lost items. I can totally identify with the lost coin. I’m always losing things around the house such as keys, reading glasses and my smartphone and rejoicing when I find them 😃.
The Son
Luke 15:23-24
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
All of us go our own way and put God out of the picture at times. I often wonder whether the prodigal son was truly sorry or whether he went back simply because he was better off at home. But the point is that there’s a way back to God from the dark world of sin.
And throughout the New Testament, it’s clear that our repentance should be sincere. I doubt that it would ever be 100% perfect. I think of a man who once said to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). In the same way, I would say “I repent, help my lack of repentance.” If I really knew how much my sin offended God, I think that I would be a lot more repentant. But I think the Holy Spirit sometimes touches us so deeply that we really have a richer experience of how sinful we are and how much God loves us despite this. I don’t take kindly to humans criticizing me, but when the Holy Spirit convicts me, often when reading God’s Word, I rejoice, because it always brings me nearer to God.
Hibernia Gospel 