The Lost One

Bible Reading: Luke 15:3-7

Luke frantically looked for his newest toy. He had just bought it a few days before after saving up money to get it, and now it was nowhere to be found. He remembered placing it in his backpack, but it wasn’t there now.

Are you 100 percent sure that you placed it in your bag?” Mom asked.

“Yes, 100 percent sure,” replied a very distraught Luke.

“I haven’t seen it,” Mom told him as she started to help him look for it. The more

Luke looked, the more he feared the worst. Mom had taken some trash out earlier, and he was afraid it had been in there and was now gone forever.

A while later, Mom came to Luke’s bedroom door. “Why have you looked so hard for this toy?” she asked.

“Because I worked hard to buy it, and I love it. It’s important to me,” Luke replied as tears began to run down his face.

Mom gently brushed one of his tears away and pulled the lost toy from her pocket.

“Oh, Mom! You found it!” Luke beamed as he took it from her. “Where was it?”

“In the laundry room. It must have been in one of your pockets.” She sat down beside Luke on the bed. “You know, this reminds me of a story in the Bible.”

“It does?” Luke thought about it. “Oh yeah, I know! The story Jesus told about a shepherd going after the lost sheep.”

“Yes,” said Mom. “The other sheep were a lot like the other toys in your bag— they were safe. But the one that had gotten lost was not, and the shepherd cared just as much for that one as the others. He loved it so much he left the others to go and search for it.”

Luke looked up at his mom. “We’re the lost sheep in that story, aren’t we?”

Mom nodded. “When we were lost in sin, He came to earth and died to pay for our sins so we could belong to Him and not be lost anymore.”

Luke smiled. “I’m sure glad He loves us enough to go searching for us.” Mom kissed him on the forehead. “Me too!” • Kristy Wolfe

How About You?

Have you ever lost something precious to you? Did you search and search for it until it was found? That’s how Jesus feels about you. If you are lost in sin, He is searching for you. He wants to find you and bring you into the fold with His other sheep. Once you’ve been found, you belong to Him and will never be lost again. Trust Him to save you. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse:
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man [Jesus] has come to seek and to save the lost. (CSB)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus searches for the lost