Lost and Found
This summer, as I was learning my way around the church and looking into cupboards to get familiar with things, I came across an innocuous box in the Volunteer Workroom. This is a box which can be found in many public spaces, usually labeled in a similar black marker in similar large, block letters: LOST AND FOUND.
The Lost and Found box at First United Methodist Church contains some very boring items. Some papers. Some reading glasses. A rather grubby water bottle. But there on the top of the dull items was something that immediately caught my eye. It was a crow.
Yes, a crow. 12 inches, from beak to tail feathers. Made of some sort of dyed grass and, it almost seems, corn husks. I instantly fell in love. I've named her Katy and she now lives, as you can see in the photo, atop the bookcase in my office. Yes, I added the jaunty pink bow.
Katy Crow was lost but now she's found. Found by someone who likes her off-beat nature. Found by someone who chose her, deliberately. Found by someone who wanted to rescue her from her lostness. Someone who wanted to make sure that she is never lost again.
This past Sunday morning I brought Katy Crow with me to our First Sunday morning intergenerational Sunday School opening. She behaved very well as I took her out of my special Sunday School fake patent-leather bright red bag, and didn't complain at all as I explained her history to the group.
"Katy was lost," I said, "but now she's found. Kind of like you and I. Have any of you ever been lost?"
The kids said no, for the most part, but the grown-ups -- possibly every single one -- said yes.
And the truth is, all of us were lost in our sins before Jesus came and pulled us out of the Lost and Found box of life. And that was the point of my object lesson on Sunday morning. All of us were lost at one point, but Jesus came to "find" -- to save -- all of us and bring us into his family.
Jesus chose us because he likes our off-beat natures. He chose us, deliberately. He chose us because he wanted to rescue us from our lostness. He wanted to make sure that we are never lost again.
We even learned a verse about it, complete with actions to help us remember.
"The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10
You never know what might show up inside of my fake patent-leather bright red bag on our next First Sunday morning together. Please join us on the next FIRST SUNDAY of the month (so, November 6, 2022) at 9:15 in the church sanctuary!
See you there!
The Lost and Found box at First United Methodist Church contains some very boring items. Some papers. Some reading glasses. A rather grubby water bottle. But there on the top of the dull items was something that immediately caught my eye. It was a crow.
Yes, a crow. 12 inches, from beak to tail feathers. Made of some sort of dyed grass and, it almost seems, corn husks. I instantly fell in love. I've named her Katy and she now lives, as you can see in the photo, atop the bookcase in my office. Yes, I added the jaunty pink bow.
Katy Crow was lost but now she's found. Found by someone who likes her off-beat nature. Found by someone who chose her, deliberately. Found by someone who wanted to rescue her from her lostness. Someone who wanted to make sure that she is never lost again.
This past Sunday morning I brought Katy Crow with me to our First Sunday morning intergenerational Sunday School opening. She behaved very well as I took her out of my special Sunday School fake patent-leather bright red bag, and didn't complain at all as I explained her history to the group.
"Katy was lost," I said, "but now she's found. Kind of like you and I. Have any of you ever been lost?"
The kids said no, for the most part, but the grown-ups -- possibly every single one -- said yes.
And the truth is, all of us were lost in our sins before Jesus came and pulled us out of the Lost and Found box of life. And that was the point of my object lesson on Sunday morning. All of us were lost at one point, but Jesus came to "find" -- to save -- all of us and bring us into his family.
Jesus chose us because he likes our off-beat natures. He chose us, deliberately. He chose us because he wanted to rescue us from our lostness. He wanted to make sure that we are never lost again.
We even learned a verse about it, complete with actions to help us remember.
"The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10
You never know what might show up inside of my fake patent-leather bright red bag on our next First Sunday morning together. Please join us on the next FIRST SUNDAY of the month (so, November 6, 2022) at 9:15 in the church sanctuary!
See you there!
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