Ever Lost Something?

Have you ever lost anything? Maybe you lost your keys and you instantly felt panicked. You search everywhere, look in every pocket, check between the cushions of your couch, and even pick up the dog and shake it to see if good old spot has eaten your keys. Your frustration starts to mount as you can’t find the keys; you start to blame anyone and everyone for the loss; your anger and frustration continue to grow until you are ready to explode. Now you’re in full panic mode; you have to find the keys because your entire world is contained on that one little ring!

But what if you still can’t find your keys even after looking really long and hard? Would you start to have totally irrational thoughts like, maybe your keys have somehow gotten lost in that black hole that just consumes one of a pair of socks. Or maybe the CIA finally discovered your true identity as the Lord of the Dance? Or maybe someone has devised a clever way to steal your 1975 AMC Pacer and park it in your basement. No matter what you’re thinking or how irrational those thoughts seem to any sane person they cause you to break out in a cold sweat. Those keys may never be found any you don’t know if you’ll ever be the same again…

Well weather you’ve lost your keys recently or not, my guess is that at some point in time you have lost something. Maybe you have lost a possession, failed to reach a goal, or had had a favorite TV show canceled. Maybe you have had someone you love die, sever a relationship, or just disappear. No matter what kind of loss you’ve experienced; I imagine there has been some kind of pain associated with it. The more deeply we are connected to the lost item the more intense the pain associated with the loss seems to be.

I’m convinced that even Jesus experienced pain like this. In the gospel of John Jesus had been teaching some things about a relationship with God that were difficult for people to hear. Many didn’t like what Jesus was saying so they left…

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, "Are you going to leave, too?"
John 6:66-67 (NLT)

I don’t want to pretend that I understand all that Jesus was feeling during that moment, but I do know that He did some things that seemed to help Him deal with the loss. As you keep reading the account of Jesus’ life in John’s gospel, you discover that He accepted encouragement from Peter and other friends, He identified the problems in His life, He removed Himself from the stress and strain He was under for a season, He spent time with family (even though they weren’t really all that helpful), He focused on His purpose / mission in life, and he went to a party. I think that all this helped lead Jesus to a point where He was able to go on and face even greater loss and ultimately make it possible for all of us to experience our greatest potential loss with a sense of hope.

What have you lost recently and what’s been helpful for you in dealing with it?

Pressing On,
Dale