Luke 14-16 Hide and Seek

October 30th, Luke 14-16

       Chapter 15 has a theme of lost items. A lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.  I think of the lost and found. Years of coaching reminds me of the stuff students throw away at the end of a season, thrown into the lost and found. Not really lost, but certainly found. I think of hide and go seek. Intentionally playing hard to get, seeking to avoid, finding new places to hide. Lost to the one seeking, while knowing where you are(glad my keys can't evade me with intentionality, although sometimes I wonder).
       There is a realization inside of me that sometimes I like to be "not found." Wondering around on my own, doing my own thing. It means I don't have to pay attention to someone who gives instruction.  That battle is always complicated when you see how much better it is to be found than to be lost. Unlike the coin that fell or was misplaced or the sheep that mindlessly wonders too far, I can be the prodigal, breaking hearts while I do it my way. It's all about me.
       I see in the hearts of people an enjoyment for the game of hide and seek. Liking the game more than enjoying being found. Like being found is being caught and being less free. Or messing with the mind of the seeker. We played hide and seek where you had to get back to a predetermined location without getting caught. One upping the seeker. I see that mentality with people playing this game with God.
       Thank God that he is a seeker. He could have washed his hands of this whole mess after the fall. God is not obligated to save us, find us, heal us, forgive us.  We must learn how to play this game of hide and seek less and learn the truth that is more grand. God wants you to be found. Remember he is omniscient and being "found" offers a wholeness that "lost" never will.