Lost and Found: Lessons From Life and the Parables

For me, feelings of loss or being lost are the stuff of nightmares. Jesus’ three parables about lost things convey object lessons that still resonate with me today.

It was hard to shake my anxious feelings as I struggled toward wakefulness. This was the second time I had experienced this nightmare, and once had been quite enough.

There I was, totally lost—in a maze of streets and alleys, subways and towering buildings. I had no clue where I was, how I got there or how I could get back to the safety of familiar places and people.

What’s worse, no one knew I was missing! So I wandered, bewildered, frightened and alone.

Mildly lost

I have been mildly lost on a few occasions, but usually a map, a GPS or a stop at a gas station to ask directions took care of the situation.

To lose something is a different matter entirely. That can elicit emotions of irritation, frustration, outright panic and despair.

Recently I was reminded of both these uncomfortable situations while reading through Luke 15. Jesus presented three different scenarios of things that are lost in this chapter’s parables.

Parable of the lost sheep

It’s terrible to lose an animal we love or are responsible for. Haven’t many of us gone searching through the neighborhood for a lost pup, or even posted a reward sign for its return? Didn’t we exhaust every possibility in hopes of happily being reunited? Weren’t we ecstatic and relieved when it was found, or devastated when it wasn’t?

Good shepherds of Jesus’ day, too, cared for their flocks and knew them intimately. Committed to the safety and well-being of each sheep, they took a nightly count to make sure that one had not strayed. If one was missing, the search was on. Finding that one sheep would be cause for great celebration.

Parable of the lost coin

A few years ago, during one of our many moves, I absentmindedly placed my wedding rings in an unmarked packing box. They were safely in a ring case, but imagine arriving at a new home, seeing a garage full of boxes and trying to find which one held such a small item. I searched frantically and finally gave up in tears. I feared these precious rings were simply lost.

My husband, seeing my distress, took up the search and soon found them, just where they had been packed. We were both elated!

As I read the second parable, I could so identify with the woman who had lost a silver coin. For her, this was not just a coin. This was very possibly a tenth of her savings. Perhaps it was a piece of her headdress, which, according to Expositor’s Bible Commentary, could have been a part of her dowry and something she would wear daily.

No wonder she searched so diligently, and when she found it, she, too, shared her joy.

Parable of the lost (prodigal) son

A good friend of mine had five sons, four of whom kept in regular contact with their mother, especially as she grew older. But one son had a way of popping in and out unexpectedly, and eventually just disappeared. She hadn’t heard from him in years. When the subject of family came up, her care and concern surfaced for this “lost” son. As far as I know, she died without seeing him again.

Happily Jesus’ parable had a positive ending. Unlike the other two parables where the objects didn’t know they were lost, this son realized his deplorable state and that he needed to repent and return to his father. (The father, by the way, had been watching for him—possibly for years.)

Only the older brother refused to celebrate as his father rejoiced, “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (verse 24).

In His good hands

As the New Testament Passover approaches, I’m struck by the real lesson of these parables: the desperate state of being spiritually lost—to be away from God’s protection and oversight—and the joy of being “found.”

From figment to blessing

While my nightmares were figments of an overactive mind, they did cause me to deeply consider the assurances that there is One who keeps a careful watch over His own.

I am encouraged by Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them [the disciples] is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (verse 12).

Equally as comforting is this scripture: “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment” (Ezekiel 34:16).

And finally, I rest on the wonderful promise found in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Karen Meeker is looking forward to a spiritual renewal during the New Testament Passover service and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Related reading:

• What Does the New Testament Passover Mean and How Is It Commemorated?
• What Is Repentance?
• Sermon: The Prodigal Son, Part 1—the Son