Everyone fears playing hide-and-seek when you hide and no one seeks. Almost broadcasting that it’s just fine with everyone else if you’re not found. Not nice! I don’t remember that ever happening to me or others playing that game growing up in our Millburn, New Jersey neighborhood.

I liked everyone on our block. No bullies. No violence. Not much in the way of one-upmanship. Just kids flourishing in a nice middle-class section of a suburban town. I have wonderful memories of where I grew up, and I am still in contact with a few over sixty years later.

Looking at Jesus’ hide-and-seek parables in Luke 15, I note what’s been gone missing. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. All are valuable. A sheep represents work and livelihood. The coin is part of the savings of this woman, who lives in jeopardy if she runs short of cash. The most valuable would have to be the father’s son, who dies to his family by rejecting them, grabbing an early inheritance, and squandering all he can as fast as he can in some god-forsaken land. Those are what’s hidden.

Who does the seeking in these stories? The shepherd, the woman, and the father. All symbolize God, who hunts high and low to find His lost. I remember asking Jesus into my life one Sunday evening in that same New Jersey town I called home. No flowery prayer. Certainly, no bargaining with God to get more out of Him. Just a simple ‘yes’ to Jesus’ invitation.

Immediately, I began reading my Bible and attending church faithfully, and I discovered that His seeking me preceded my welcoming Him into my life. He reached out to me first and foremost. He took the first step. Not the other way around.

Here are some Bible verses that say the same. “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out’ (Ezekiel 34:11). ‘” Here’s a favorite of mine–‘If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?’ (Matthew 18: 12). And these words–‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19: 10). Finally, Jesus says this–‘You did not choose me, but I chose you…’ (John 15: 16).

So, keep praying for lost ones among your family and friends. Never stop. The Lord doesn’t. His seeking them is relentless. He aims to find those who will be forgiven and renewed. I wonder who prayed for me long before that Sunday evening when I first started my walk with Jesus? The ball was pitched my way long before I caught it.

This week let’s keep praying for those you love to open the door of their hearts to God’s loving call and invitation. He seeks the lost so they will be found. He keeps on knocking.

Thank you, Jesus, for seeking me and finding me. Amen.