Sought

“How do you know someone cares about you? What does it feel like to be loved?”

These questions were posed to a small group of church leaders by a vibrant, slight woman with very curly hair. Other parts of this missions seminar had been helpful, but my first sarcastic thought was, “here we go, five love languages time.”

Sitting there, my mind was entirely blank for a few moments. After the first few answers verbalized by those around me, I hardly heard them because I became fixated on one word: sought.

Pondering this question caused tears to silently well up in my eyes. To be loved is to be sought out, sought after. For the father of the prodigal son, love produced longing, which was revealed in looking. Surely the father had an eye on the road, waiting, seeking his lost son.

Join me with a moment’s meditation on the idea of being sought. [[ Luke 19#10|Luke 19:10 ]] says:

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

We’re all only 1 of 8 billion people on this globe (not to mention the astounding number of people who have already lived). One amid so many, why should anyone care? Why should anyone notice?

To be relatively unknown in the sea of humanity is acceptable for most people. No one can possibly know every one of the 8 billion. No harm, no foul.

But what about our everyday world? To exist unknown, unsought in our daily lives stings a bit more. Even worse, to be ignored occasionally or often by the people we do know, now that really hurts.

But with Jesus, no one is unloved, unsought, or unknown.

Jesus crossed the greatest divide, coming from heaven to earth for lost humanity. He’s seeking the salvation of the world. Beyond his compassion for the multitudes, his seeking is personal. He has the supernatural ability to know every person, and seek every person. He looks for the one.

Whether it’s one of two, one of ten, one of one-hundred, or one of a billion, he seeks the one.

And you are that one.