by Victoria Heinecke

We’re poor little lambs who have lost our way.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;”
Isaiah 53:6a English Standard Version

I was awakened by a rattling door in the wee hours of the morning. Our daughter brought a cat into the house late last night, and he’s been meowing loudly and scratching on the bathroom door most of the night.

She’s named him Bonkers. I call him Old Marley’s Ghost.

He’s lost, and although we found him, he’s still not where he ought to be. Lisa will take the cat to a veterinarian this morning to see if he has an identification chip, so his owner may be contacted. If he has no chip, she will take him to the Humane Society, and he will be on another adventure.

If he’d been left outside, he might have found his way back home. On the other hand, he may have suffered an unfortunate fate under the wheels of a car, or in an encounter with a coyote. In any case, this cat’s late night meanderings have taken one unexpected turn after another.

Our lives in this world can, at times, be like the wandering adventures of this cat. We are cared for by a loving God, and there are times when we bolt from that comfort to explore the world.

We get lost. Our adventures, at times, take us to places we didn’t expect to go.

However, we’re not really lost. God knows where we are, and he sent Jesus to bring us back to him.

“And when he has found (the lost sheep), he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ”
Luke 15:5-6 ESV

This week, as we walk with Jesus to Jerusalem, we will hear of his suffering and death for our sinful, wandering ways. Let us remember that each of us, lost in the world, has already been found by the risen Christ.

Even when we’ve lost our way, remember that Jesus is the only way.

All we have to do is believe in him.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado