Todays Reading: Psalms 119: 176; Luke 15:4, 19:10
To seek is to search for with desired and purposeful intention. As previously mentioned in the post on the Ransom, a continual obligation as parents is to know where your children are located and seeking them. Several days ago my middle child informed us that she wants to go to a friend’s house to play. We agreed. When it was time for dinner, I went to bring her home and she was not at the friend’s house. I went to the next logical friend’s house and she was not there either. This starts that anxiety and fight-flight response. The father of the second friend began to get ready to help me canvas the neighborhood to search for my child. As I am walking to the third friend’s house, my daughter is coming down the street with a smile on her face and a warm “Hi Daddy”.
What a relief, I have located and found my child. The mix of emotions never changes: the relief of finding them mixed with the anxiety (on the edge of anguish) you have in the search. I believe that it is not a coincidence that I had to go through this situation this week. God has some amazing ways to teach us the true meaning of his word. I can take a better reflection of the seeker that Christ is for us.
In the first passage in Psalms, take particular note that this is the longest psalm that is written in the bible and this is the last verse of that psalm. This psalm was written to teach and instruct the Hebrew people the Hebrew alphabet and it was also meant to teach them the different aspects of how God is in our life.
Psalm 119: 176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.
The last verse that we have here is talking about being a lost sheep but having God in your life. How amazing it is to understand our position and God’s position in our life. First we have to understand that we may be lost, but in admitting that we are loss is not a failure to us but it’s the beginning for the seeker to start to find us. The second thing to notice is that in the entire last portion of Psalms 119 it talks about how God is bountiful and diligent about us and his protection over us: Your promise, you teach, your decrees, your word, your commands, your hand, your precepts, your salvation, your laws, your servant, your commands.
In the second section of passages we see the different aspects of the seeker. Throughout Luke Chapter 15 they are three examples of different seeker. The first seeker is a man with a sheep. The second seeker is a woman with a coin. The third seeker is a father with a son.
To have a better understanding of the items and the seeker I did some research on the actual worth of items to get a full picture of the loss. The first item that is loss is a sheep it is the one out of 100 sheep. The shepherd leaves the 99 in a field to find the one. The cost of a sheep monetarily at that time is about $250, about 10 days worth of labor. The sheep were not just for consumption of food but also for milk, clothing, and companionship.
The next item that was search of was a silver coin. The estimated value of that one silver coin is approximately $250 in that time. I remember, as a young child listening to this parable I was always confused why somebody would search so diligently for a quarter or a fifty-cent piece. As with age and wisdom, I understand that is coin is worth far more than the assume value. Jesus knows that this fact of the value of this coin would resonate with the people of the time. During these times the disparity was a daily struggle. It is this particular reason that Jesus addresses this in the Lord’s Prayer … “ Give us this day, our daily bread (Both the word of God and the essence of nourishment.) This coin was a small fortune. So it is easy to see how each of these items were diligently sought after by their owners. These things were at enormous value to the owners and they had a intentional desire to find a reclaim these loss items.
The last item that was lost and found, we have heard how many different iterations of the prodigal son. As a parent the value of a child is unexplainable. Its one thing that you cannot put a true value except priceless.
So as we analyze these items and these passages together we can see how God is actively seeking us daily. It doesn’t depend if we are a current believer, believer who has lost a portion of our faith, or a nonbeliever. God is always seeking us to give us that peace and to welcome us to be part of his family. It doesn’t matter where we have been or where we are going or what you have experienced: God wants us. God is seeking you and me. God wants us because he loves us and he has that same innate parental love for use all. A LOVE that loves no matter what has happened. He just loves us. The one thing we have to do is not allow the adversary to dissuade us from God’s love. How many times do kids believe that they cannot receive their parents’ love if they do a “wrong” thing? No matter what the child does, the parents’ love is unconditional. This is the same love of Christ and God. He is seeking you. Allow him to smile at you as you run to him and say “Hi Daddy”.
Be Blessed.