IN FOCUS: Seeking lost is the Father’s passion

Steve Vernon

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Several years ago, our family visited a new mall that opened in Amarillo. Donna and I were there with our kids and my dad. The boys and my dad were in the sporting goods section, looking for anything that was played with a ball. Donna and I were with our daughter, 3-year-old Amy, in the children's section. All of a sudden, it dawned on Donna and me that Amy was nowhere to be found.

Steve Vernon

A quick survey revealed our daughter was lost. We began a frantic search for her. We ran through the aisles of the store. I ran outside, nervously surveying the parking lot. Our child was lost. For the next few minutes, we desperately searched. Then we heard an announcement: "Would the parents of Amy Vernon please come to the office? Amy is here with us." I cannot describe the relief we felt. Our daughter was OK. She was found. She was restored to us.

If I read Scripture correctly, the desire to find a lost daughter and the joy of finding her I felt is nothing compared to the passion our heavenly Father has for finding his lost children. In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables about lostness. There was a lost coin, a lost sheep and a lost child. Jesus told the story in each case of a desperate search and the joy of finding what was lost. That is his love for us.

I think there are two reminders here. We once were the object of the search. Each of us was lost, and now we are found. And in the second reminder, God calls us to be as passionate about seeking those who still are lost as he was passionate about finding us. We must see with the eyes of a father who is seeking his lost son, or a woman who has lost a coin, or a shepherd who has lost a sheep. We must pursue the lost with that kind of passion. We love others in Jesus' name.

We live in a state with more than 11 million people who are lost. We live in a world that has more lost people alive at one time than ever before. We have the hope of Christ to share with them. We must seek with the passion of the Father for those who are lost.

I never will forget the feelings and the reminder of that day at the mall those long years ago. In my small way, I was reminded of the immense love the Father has for all of us. And I was reminded that seeking the lost is the passion of our heavenly Father for his children. That is the mission he has called each of us to do.

?Steve Vernon is associate executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

 


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