Refuge of Grace

Mom, have you seen that little blue Lego? You know the one that makes the Spiderman car? Or the tiny pink dragon that goes with Reesie’s Polly Pocket? If I made $1 every time we went on the search for that one missing piece, I could replace almost all the incomplete Lego sets in our toy bins.

We search, lifting every couch cushion and shaking each blanket. And then, our fingers finally close around the lost firetruck-red piece and joy explodes across my son’s face. Finding what was lost is a great treasure to him. There is another who is the ultimate finder of lost things. And He won’t leave you lost, He will find you, and that is a great treasure.

I don’t know about you, but in my life, I’ve been that lost piece, sometimes purposefully and sometimes accidentally. On those days, lies speak loudly, pulling me off the path and into the darkness of deception. Thoughts whisper, God doesn’t care about you. You don’t matter. No one would care if you were gone. But you know what? We belong to the ultimate finder. Jesus will find us, even on those lost-piece days.

Jesus is the best story teller and one of my favorites is the parable of the lost sheep. In Luke 15, Jesus speaks,

“‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.’”

Luke 15:4-5, ESV

In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a man having one hundred sheep and just one sheep loses his own way. The man leaves the flock in search of the lost one. Oh, how much tender care Jesus has for just one of His who is lost. I don’t know about you, but in those lost seasons, I feel small and insignificant. And yet, God’s Word tells us we are so valued, He will find us. Not one is insignificant; all are special and treasured to Jesus.

We are so precious to Jesus that once we are found, He hoists us upon His shoulders. In those lost seasons, we might be so exhausted, we need carried. And Jesus does this. He picks us up, taking the weight off our weary feet, allowing us to rest in Him.

And then, the best part—God, the creator of heaven and earth, rejoices because just one is found. Even more so than my son’s face filled with delight when the lost piece was found, Jesus fills with joy at our return.

And aren’t we the same? Doesn’t our Savior’s rejoicing trickle down to us? Isn’t the joy of being found incomparable to any other? We are no longer lost, but found—this is truly the biggest little treasure.