Hide and Seek

And when he [the shepherd] cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors saying unto them, Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. Luke 15:6b (SAE)

My sisters and I always had an Easter Sunday egg hunt. Our parents hid the eggs before breakfast; later we took turns hiding and finding them again. As a parent, I passed the custom on to my children. Surprisingly, another tradition popped up. It didn’t matter how hard my sisters and I searched, somehow we always missed one or two. We knew the “good” spots – window ledges, beside books, below the sofa, and on top of the clock. We checked everywhere, but while cleaning the house sometime during the next month, we would find a left over.

Often it was more fun to share the news about the last one than finding the first one on Easter morning. My kids were just as excited. They’d yell, run around and show everyone that lost egg’s hidden nook. Its spot joined the list of “great” hiding places.

Of course an Easter egg hunt is not the same as Jesus, the shepherd, searching for lost souls, but finding that last egg always reminds me that our job as followers is to keep on seeking the lost. They hide in schools, work sites, or shopping and recreational centers. They’re tucked under life’s weeds of ignorance, busyness, despair, intellectual pride, or cultural excuses. And when the newly found join the Shepherd’s flock, we again celebrate His love and the joys of Easter. We have fun rejoicing with Him.

Father, Thank you for giving us your love and for granting us the special joy of finding the lost. Amen.

© 2010 Virginia Colclasure