Look at most grocery store entrances and you might find a picture of a lost dog posted by an anxious owner in hopes of being reunited with his family treasure.
Detectives say that the first 24-48 hours are critical for those who are in search of a missing loved one. Hopes are dashed for the safe return of loved ones when a two day recovery period lapses. Is there anything more heart wrenching than parents overcome with grief during the frantic search of their missing child? Hardly.
Many of us will not be touched with the severity of these kinds of traumatic losses, (we should be thankful every day for such grace), but we know well the frustration of the hopeless search for a missing sock from the dryer. Ever lost your keys to the house, car or backyard shed? Just the other day I lost my blue tooth ear piece for my cell phone. From what I can remember, I went from the kitchen to the garage and into the car...no more than 20-30 feet...in that short amount of time and space, I lost my gadget and am still amazed how that could ever have happened!
The custom of traveling families in the days of Christ was to move along toward home in caravans of people, family and friends alike. During the return trip from an annual celebration and observance of the Passover, Jesus' parents were confident that their young son was among the familiar faces of trusted fellow sojourners. After a day apart, they searched for their son, only to discover that he had never struck out with them for the return trip...
"The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions." Luke 2:43, 46
Let that sink in for just a bit. Lost for day, three days to recover.
Think for a minute of how Mary and Joseph must have felt for those three long, arduous days. How many police reports did they file? How many times did they retrace their steps through the city? How many 'Lost Child' posters did they nail to street posts and hang in grocery store entrances? Do you think that they fretted? No doubt they were sweating bullets, blaming themselves, anxious to the gills...they had lost their son. They had lost the Son of God.
Many years ago in college I heard a noted pastor use this text to teach an incredible truth that has stuck with me to this day; "Miss Jesus for a day, it may take you three days to catch up!" He was speaking specifically about being too casual in my relationship with Christ, (I felt as though he was speaking directly to me!) and that the loss of one single day of non-communion might set me back three times over in regaining the precious communion forfeited by neglect.
I am not saying that Mary and Joseph neglected their son in the least. I am saying that I have tended to from time to time...abandoning the journey with Him, distracted by the crowds, the conversations, the meal time chatter and the sweat of the walk itself! When he was found, Jesus was exactly where he should have been. Mary and Joseph might have thought they they had been were they needed to be as well...but found out that they had been a bit mistaken.
If you sense that there is some distance between you and God, ask yourself how many days you have walked without paying close attention to who matters most. Hurry..catch up...He can be found...waiting for you in the very place you should have been in the first place...by His side.
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