Mrs. Perez was nervous. Her five-year-old son Jorge was usually home at four o’clock. But today, four o’clock came and went without any sign of Jorge. Mrs. Perez glanced anxiously through her sliding-glass door at the sound of each passing car. Surely that had to be her little boy finally being dropped off by the bus driver. But it wasn’t. Where could Jorge be?
Five o’clock went by, and soon it was dinnertime. Still there was no news about Jorge. Mrs. Perez felt very afraid and very alone. She had only been living in the United States for a short time and did not speak much English. Her husband was at work and she didn’t know how to reach him. It would be hard to find anyone who could help her find her son.
Another worry crossed her mind. Jorge had a heart problem and had needed surgery just last year. Maybe something had gone wrong with his heart. Maybe Jorge wouldn’t be coming home!
Mrs. Perez’s fear for her missing son grew as minutes slipped into hours. Finally, she picked up the phone to call her brother-in-law. She thought that maybe he could find her husband, who spoke English well. Surely, her husband would be able to find Jorge.
By the time Mr. Perez finally got home, Jorge had been missing for three hours. Mr. Perez quickly called the school, but all he got was the answering machine. Then he drove to the school and found that it was empty. Finally, he headed for the police station.
The police immediately called the school principal, Jorge’s teacher and even his bus driver. Nobody knew where Jorge was. His teacher said he had gotten on the bus, but the bus driver didn’t think he had.
Two more hours dragged by, and still no Jorge. Then the phone rang!
It was the police in a nearby town who were calling. They told Jorge’s parents that Jorge had fallen asleep on the bus, slumping down on the seat so far that the driver didn’t see him. When he woke up hours later, he was all alone on the parked bus, so he got off the bus and wandered out onto the street. That is where someone had found him.
You can imagine how happy Jorge’s parents were! They rushed to the police station and were soon joyfully hugging and kissing their son.
Are you missing? That might seem like a funny question! But many people are “missing.” The Bible says, “[Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). Anyone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior is lost. That’s what I mean when I ask if you are missing.
Mr. and Mrs. Perez loved their son very much, but God loves you even more, and He wants you to be part of His family. He loves the people in this world so much that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this world to die for our sins, so that lost sinners can be found. When a lost sinner is found by coming to God because of what Jesus did, it is a wonderfully happy time in heaven, even more than when Jorge was found. It says in the Bible that “joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that [repents]” (Luke 15:77I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)). When we come to Jesus, we become one of God’s own children. Belonging to Him, we are loved and safe. We can never be lost again. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath [given to] us, that we should be called the [children] of God” (1 John 3:11Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1)).
Have you come to Him and become one of the children in His family?
Messages of God’s Love 4/3/2022