Lost & Found

Text: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39).

Has anyone here ever lost anything? For example, have you lost a key, an address, some money, your wallet, your credit card, or anything else? I would say that most people have lost something at some point in their life. When we lose an item of some sort, we are not happy.

I don’t like to say I lost something, but I prefer to say that I misplaced it. If I say I lost an item, it sounds as though I am irresponsible and am not trustworthy. It is easy to blame someone else for our faults.

When a person loses or misplaces something, it is not uncommon to say that it was taken or picked up by another person. At times it is difficult for us to accept accountability.

I was in a restaurant one day when a guest accused the server of taking his sunglasses. He was not sitting too far from me and I did not see any sunglasses on the table. The guest notified management of the issue, an incident report was filled out, and the corporate office was notified. He lost or misplaced his sunglasses, but the blame was cast upon another individual. My guess is that when he got to his car his sunglasses appeared. I don’t know this for sure.

The point is we all lose things. Children lose things quite often. Children have lost library books, articles of clothing, money, toys, and other articles. Adults have lost cell phones, umbrellas, wallets, car keys, laptops, glasses, and a host of other items. We are all guilty.

Schools, workplaces, restaurants, airports, bus stations, and other establishments have a lost and found department. It is true that sometimes articles will be found by an individual, but will not be turned into the lost and found department.

The other day we were going into CVS and decided to return a cart to the store and in the process noticed that someone had bought a nice birthday card and left it in the bag in the cart. It was not ours, so we took it in and gave it to the cashier. Cards cost money, and I believe that at some point the person who bought the card will be looking for it.

I heard a lost and found story that occurred one Sunday morning at one church. The minister had announced the hymn to be sung just before the message was to be given. As the choir began to sing the hymn, the minister couldn’t seem to find his written sermon.

He searched around the pulpit thinking it might have fallen to the floor. When he realized this had not happened, he motioned to the choir director to keep singing while he went to his office to see if he left it there on his desk. He did not find it on his desk.

He came back into the church and went to talk to his wife who was sitting in the front pew. He poured out his heart to her, but unfortunately she was of no help. She sent a young fellow into the men’s restroom to see if her husband might have let it there. It was not in the restroom.

While this was going on, the choir kept singing. The hymn came to a close, so the minister whispered to the choir director to sing another hymn. By this time the minister was quite frustrated and it was obvious to the congregation.

As the choir was finishing the second hymn, something came over the minister. There was a feeling of peace upon his face, his frustration had disappeared and joy and happiness showed forth in the form of a sweet smile stretching from one ear to another.

What had happened? The sermon that was lost had been found. Where was it and who found it? It was in the minister’s inside coat pocket and he found it when in desperation he reached his hand into his pocket.

The choir finished the hymn, the director realized the issue had been solved and motioned for the choir to be seated. The minister walked to the pulpit, tall and straight, smile on his face, joy in his heart, spirit in his step and the message in his hand. The minister in the pulpit and the angels in heaven were rejoicing over that which was lost but was found.

When we find something we have lost, there in joy in our heart. We are back to normal. Everything looks bright. Life is good. God has blessed us and we thank Him.

The three parables I read to you this morning concern something lost and found. The Pharisees and scribes were complaining about Jesus. They were saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). The sinners were the tax collectors, cheaters, outcasts and any others not living according to Pharisee standards.