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? Luke 15:4
After I got off the airplane on a return home to St. Louis after a trip, I suddenly realized that I could not remember exactly where I had parked my car in long-term parking. I got on a shuttle to the lot where I thought it might be and could not find it. I did a grid search and went down every aisle of the lot, looking for my black Ford Escape. (I soon discovered that Ford Escapes are a very popular model of car!) No luck. I checked my ticket. No indication of the lot to look in. I went to the booths at the exit. No person stationed there. Finally, I decided to go to Maps on my iPhone to just see where I was, and there it was: a pin that said “parked car” in a parking lot far from where I was. Eventually, a kind shuttle driver took me to that dot on my phone and there was my car, safe and sound. As funny as this may sound, I feel my car and I have had a stronger bond since, and I often check to see where my car is parked, even if I know.
There is something about this experience that reminds me of the lengths our Good Shepherd will go to find us. He will leave everything else behind to look for us when we are lost. He will take the time to search diligently. But like the amazing (to me) electronic link between my phone and my car, Christ is inextricably connected to us and will find us in the end, wherever we are. The reunion pinpoints a deepening in our relationship with him. We who were once lost in sin have been found and will never be forgotten by him.