Frantic

  My two year old son was lost recently. We were at an outdoor festival and my wife thought I had him and I thought she had him. When she came to me and asked me where he was, I was frantic. I began to think of all the things that could possibly happen to him: he could wander out into the busy street, he could get trampled by the wagon-ride horses, someone could grab him and take off.

  I made a beeline for the stage. I made the band stop playing and the singer stop singing and announce that my son was missing, because if my son is lost then EVERYTHING ELSE MUST STOP UNTIL HE IS FOUND!

  Is this the way God feels about his children? When we are lost, is he frantic? Does he drop everything until we are found? Is this the message of the story of the lost sheep in Luke 15?

  I have a hard time believing that God feels this way about me. I tend more towards believing that he\'s aloof, waiting for me to return to him. But since I have become a dad I've gained new insight into the feelings that God possibly has for us. And those feelings are deep and passionate. It's humbling to believe that these are the feelings that God might have for us.

  My son was found and he didn't even know he was lost (which is a discussion for another time). I look forward to many more lessons learned from him.