I can still remember that horrific day as if it were yesterday. When my boys were very young, we were at the shopping mall when I suddenly noticed that one of them had gone missing. And I was experiencing a number of feelings: fear, anxiety, worry, helplessness, and desperation. I began to search everywhere, even in the silliest places. I was not going to leave any spot unsearched. And I even remember crying out to God, “Do whatever you want with me, Lord, but let me find my son and let him be safe.” In a matter of moments, I found him – and I gave him a gigantic hug and let him know how much I loved him. Then, I thanked God for allowing him to be found safe and sound.
Jesus tells us today that he will do the same thing for us (Luke 15:1-10). If we ever wander off, go astray or get lost, he will search for us and look everywhere, even in the silliest places. He too will be filled with desperation to find us and to save us. He too will long to hold us in his arms and to give us a gigantic hug and tell us that we are deeply loved.
And once he finds us; well, that’s all that matters. St. Paul tells us (Philippians 3:3-8a) that once we have Christ in our lives – once we have accepted Christ and we follow his example of unconditional love and forgiveness, everything else is a loss. In other words, everything else is secondary. God needs to be at the center of our lives, and nothing else really matters! Once we put God first, then everything we do will simply fall into place. Once we have God within, then we are able to bring God out to others.
Jesus loves us so much that he was willing to die in order to save us. That’s the type of love that we need to imitate. That’s the kind of love that we need to have for one another. That’s the kind of love that’s worth searching for; and once we find it, we must embrace it and never let go!
