Today’s scripture: Luke 15:3-10 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (David Zier):
Have you ever lost something, and you stopped everything? You looked and looked until you found it. What about your car keys? Have you ever lost your wallet with your money, driver’s license, and credit cards and panicked? What about your cell phone? All the while, life goes on.
In church community, we can get hung up on the color of the paint on the walls, or the carpet, or stains from coffee, or how well configured the space needs to be for optimal seating. It is not a bad thing to plan and to account for these and many other things. But the main reason we are a church community is to worship together, to pray together, to break bread together, to share God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s nudging in our lives. All the while we encourage and support each other’s journey and reach out to help those who may have fallen off course. What is it we are feverishly looking for in church?
In our own lives, have we become obsessed with “things” we invest the time to find, but we don’t treat people in the same way? When something happens and a relationship needs repair (any relationship: family, romantic, or otherwise), do we just let it wither and stay lost, or do we fervently try to find it and repair it? Perhaps some relationships need to dissolve for serious reasons, but today we live in a consumer-oriented, disposal culture where we use and throw away virtually anything. Friends can change like a revolving door.
Perhaps it is God’s love that we may think that we have lost. God does not throw us away. God’s love is abundant, constant, and always after us. God will always search us out. Are you searching for God?
Thought for the Day (Prayer): What am I feverishly looking for? Lord, help me stay in your abundant, constant love.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.