I’m always amused when I hear someone testify by saying they “found Jesus.” Jesus wasn’t lost, I remind them. We were. The good news of the gospel is Jesus has found us.
Christianity isn’t a list of ten easy steps to get to God. The radical news is that in Christ, God has come to us. The Bible is filled with the stories of God’s relentless pursuit of humankind. Sheep don’t find the shepherd. The shepherd finds the sheep.
Have you ever been lost? I mean really lost? You have no idea where you are or how you got there. You don’t know how to get back to where you started much less find the place you were going. So, you call your friend, the person you were going to meet, and what do they ask you? “Where are you?” Of course, if I knew where I was, I wouldn’t be lost!
After a frustrating few minutes of trying to tell your friend where you are, a good friend will finally say, “Stay where you are and I’ll come to you.”
That’s the good news of Christmas. God has said to us, “Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.”
And His Presence changes everything. The place we were lost becomes the place where we are found. The place where we came to our end now becomes the place we started over.
Despair gives birth to hope.
Light breaks through the darkness.
Jesus is here.
Those who were lost are now found.
The wanderers have been welcomed home.
A manger becomes the throne at which we worship.
A sinner becomes a saint.
Enemies become brothers and sisters.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left the ninety-nine to find the lost one. That lost one is us. He found us. We aren’t lost anymore. We’ve been found. Being lost is never a matter of geography, but of relationship. The place doesn’t matter. The Person does.
The place looks the same but because Jesus is here, everything is different. Think about it. Jacob goes to sleep in the wilderness and wakes up in Bethel, the house of God. Paul and Silas are in a prison cell that becomes a sanctuary. John is on Patmos which becomes the grandstand for viewing the final victory of God.
I know. It’s Christmas, so I’ll keep it short. I’ll just leave you with this. Where we are doesn’t matter. Where He is does. If Christ is with you, it’s Christmas.
