Click here for the back story.

Last Saturday I lost my glasses. I took out my contacts and my glasses weren’t where they belong. Before I tell the rest of the story, you must know that I am blurry blind without glasses or contacts. It’s impossible for me to see the number of fingers I hold up in front of my nose. It’s also impossible for me to wear my contacts for too long. So, without my glasses I couldn’t write.

Now you see the urgency of the situation. No glasses — no words. No words — no 40 Stories.

I put my contacts back in and looked for my glasses. Since I’m blurry blind without my glasses, they are always in one of two places — next to me or in the top middle drawer of my bathroom vanity. I looked all around my nightstand and couldn’t find them. I looked in every single bathroom vanity drawer and still couldn’t find them.

Then I called Andy (as if he could find them from his friend’s house). I knew I couldn’t keep my contacts in to write and I knew I needed to write. In my hunt through the bathroom vanity I found an old pair of glasses. As soon as they were on my nose, I knew they were an ancient prescription. They were just slightly less blurry than my natural blurry blind state.

I wrote anyway.
And longed for my glasses.

On Sunday evening, when I took out my contacts, my glasses were resting in the top middle drawer of the bathroom vanity.  Perplexed, I put them on and  went to write. “Did you find my glasses?” I asked Andy.

“Yep, right next to your nightstand. They must have fallen.”

Huh? I checked there like my mom’s dog checks for fallen table scraps. I pushed the thought out of my mind about how my glasses got lost and relished the fact that they were found.

Jesus does this too. He doesn’t really focus on how we get lost, rather, his primary concern is that we are found. It’s inevitable that we will get lost from time to time (or maybe even for a long time). This is so important to Jesus’ message, that he uses three examples of things lost and the rejoicing that comes when they are found.

Imagine 100 sheep and one is missing. What would you do?
Imagine 10 silver coins and losing one. What would you do?
Imagine a son fleeing. What would you do?

I went crazy looking for my 10 year old pair of missing glasses. They don’t even compare to the worth of the above list.

And when we find things that are missing — especially when they are valuable — we rejoice.

Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.
Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.
We must celebrate for this son of mine was lost, but now he is found. So the party began.

We’re not talking a little smile, but a full blown celebration. There’s joy and excitement and parties!

Count on it — there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
Count on it — that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.

I slip my glasses on my nose and I smile because they are exactly where they are supposed to be. This is so insignificant compared to lives. There is rejoicing when we are lost and get found. Even before we are found, there is rejoicing when we want to be found. It doesn’t matter how we were lost. All that matters is we return. It takes one small step toward God in order for the party to begin.

Then, the restoration can happen.