Little Josh had such a nice rattle. It was the shape of an hourglass, made of clear, firm plastic and inside were many brightly colored little balls floating in a liquid. Josh loved to turn it upside down and watch the balls go from one end to the other. But now the rattle was lost!
Josh’s mother always had kept the rattle in her diaper bag so whenever they went somewhere Josh would have it to play with. He liked it so much he would play quietly with it for a long time. Now both Josh and his mother missed it very much.
Even though it now had been gone for a couple of months Josh’s mother was still fretting over it. It had been such a favorite toy and such a help to her. Then she remembered Psalm 37 where it says, “Fret not thyself.... Trust in the Lord.... Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” It’s such a little thing, she thought. Still, I should pray about it and not fret. So that’s what she did-she prayed about the lost rattle.
Have you ever lost something and missed it a whole lot? Maybe it was a ball, or a ring, or something very special. Sometimes you find it very quickly, and sometimes it takes a long time. However, sometimes it is never found. But even while that ring or ball is lost, it still belongs to you. God has something that is lost too that He loves very much-you and me. He made us and brought us into the world, but we are lost from Him because of our sins. And He wants each one of us back very much.
That day Josh had a skin rash and had to go see the doctor. What a long wait they had for their turn. And how his mother wished she had that rattle. She reminded herself again to pray instead of fretting about it. While they sat they watched a noisy teenager talking to the lady at the desk. The teenager was tired of waiting for his turn to see the doctor too. Just for something to do he reached inside the lady’s window, picked up a toy and started flipping it first one way and then the other. Josh’s mother stared at the toy-it was a rattle just like Josh’s!
“Excuse me,” she said to the lady. “Did someone leave that here?”
“Yes, about two months ago,” answered the lady. “I usually throw things like that away, but this one was so special I kept it here, hoping the owner would come for it.”
“I believe that is my little boy’s rattle,” his mother said.
The lady smiled as the teenager handed Josh his rattle. “I’m really glad to have found its owner,” the lady said.
It had taken Josh’s mother two months to find his rattle. How glad they were to have it back. And there is good news for people who are lost. It is found in the Bible in Luke chapter 19, verse 10. “The Son of man [Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” God the Father sent the Lord Jesus down to this world for one purpose-to look for and to save those who are lost in their sins. He is anxious to have you and me back.
The Lord Jesus died and shed His blood so that all who believe on Him would never have to be punished for their sins. Isn’t God’s love in sending His Son to die for your sins enough reason for you to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:1313Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).
Jesus told a lot of people one day that there would be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents-who is sorry about his sins and turns back to God. Have you done that?
ML-12/15/1991