“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
- John 3:16 HCSB
I don’t like being lost.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Dogs have noses. We can smell a hamburger from three neighborhoods away and somehow find the exact bush where a squirrel hid his acorn last Tuesday. But even with all that, I’ve managed to get myself turned around a few times.
One afternoon, a gate was left open. Just a crack.
That’s all it took.
At first, it felt like freedom.
New smells.
New sights.
New adventures.
I trotted down the road with my tail high and my ears perked.
But after a while, those exciting smells weren’t so exciting anymore.
The houses looked unfamiliar.
The road seemed longer.
And suddenly I realized something important:
I didn’t know how to get home.
Fear has a scent.
Trust me.
I wandered and worried until I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
My human was looking for me.
Not because I deserved it.
Not because I was smart enough to find my way back.
He searched because I belonged to him.
When I finally saw him, I didn’t stop to explain where I’d been.
I just ran.
As I lay at his feet later that evening, I listened while he read from his Bible. That’s when I heard John 3:16.
It sounded a lot like my afternoon.
The Bible says we’re all born wandering.
“All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6).
We chase after our own paths, convinced we know where we’re going.
Yet sooner or later, we discover we’re farther from home than we ever imagined.
The good news is that God doesn’t stand on the porch waiting for us to figure it out.
He comes looking.
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
That’s what the cross is all about.
Because God loved us, He sent His Son to do what we could never do ourselves.
Jesus took our sin, paid our debt, and opened the way home.
Through faith in Him, the lost are found, the guilty are forgiven, and the wandering are welcomed into God’s family.
I think that’s why my human smiles when he talks about grace.
He knows what it’s like to be found.
And so do I.
When I got lost, I was relieved to hear my master’s voice calling my name.
Someday, every believer will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and be gathered safely home forever.
Now that’s a tail-wagging thought.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us when we were lost. Thank You for sending Jesus to seek and save us. Help us hear Your voice, follow You faithfully, and rejoice in the grace that has brought us home. Amen.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
