I live on a very large cul-da-sac, I’d say about one-half mile around. It is lined with beautiful homes and a variety of friendly neighbors. It is the perfect setting for my writing as I overlook nature’s artistic display of gently rolling hills together with man-made ponds, wooden fences and beautiful landscaping. The other window of my study faces the street and I have become quite the expert at matching the vehicles with their owners.
A few months ago I noticed a car, driven by an older woman, circling the neighborhood at walking speed. A few moments later she drove by again, and again and again. This went on for weeks and today as she did yesterday and again the day before made her slow and apparently agonizing daily round.
Finally curiosity won me over and as she began her second trip of the day I went outside and flagged her down. She told me she had let her puppy out one morning and it never returned. She was now desperately trying to find it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that after two months the puppy was probably lost forever. But she continues to have the faith and the resolve they will someday be reunited. So sad!
What if you searched for God with the same intensity as this lonely widow looked for her lost companion? Can’t you sense the excitement as you fall into the arms of the One we call Father? I can! He has waited patiently for that most precious of moments when you finally confess your sinful past and petition Him for His total forgiveness. At the same time God’s heavenly angles break out in song and fly hither and yon as they prepare for your eventual homecoming.
Listen as Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep to His disciples,
“And when he finds it he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:5-7
Make today your day of finding a new friend by the name of Jesus Christ. Let Him lead the way for you during this, the rest of your worldly journey, ending in a special place He calls Paradise. And I can just imagine the joy in Heaven as you make your eternal decision.
Ponder for a moment on John 16:24
Manna and Coffee 