A Story of Lost and Found

The truth is that we cannot find ourselves. The reason so many of us feel disconnected from God and others is that we are trying to find ourselves. But we can't. The reality is that only God can find us. In fact, in Jesus Christ, God has taken the ultimate step to find His lost people. Have you been found?

This devotional contains the story of LIFE. The story of life simply put is that we are lost and can't find ourselves. But God can. Centuries before Jesus was born, God was at work to “find” His people. This devotional looks at the Old Testament individuals that God found. All of them together lead directly to Jesus Christ. Now in Jesus God's people have been found. That's something to celebrate!

Plucked from Obscurity

"Abraham..."

As far as we can tell, Abraham was lost. Maybe he didn't think he was lost, but he was. Maybe he thought he had found all that he needed in the idols and pagan worship of Ur, but God had different plans. Yes, Abraham, whether he knew it or not, was lost. But God found him.

Just like Abraham we are lost until God finds us. Many of us don't even know we are lost. Some of us can't even remember a time before God found us. If we were raised in the church, always knowing about God and believing in Him from our earliest days, it is tempting to think that we were never lost. But the deep theological truth is that all human beings are lost apart from God. Perhaps some of us are still lost. Maybe we don't care. But God does. In His mysterious providence God reaches out and finds His people. The real question is “Why?” Well, let's consider Abraham. Why did God pick Abraham?

Simply put, we do not know why God picked Abraham. Was it because Abraham already had many children that God could grow into a powerful nation? Abraham had no children until after God calls him. Was it because of his great faith? We read nothing of his faith until after God picks him. Was God's choice motivated by Abraham's works? We know nothing about what Abraham did until after God speaks to him. Was it because he faithfully worshiped the true God? Again, we know nothing of his worship until after God finds him. In fact, the Bible tells us that he comes from a family of idol worshipers. All we know is that God found him and plucked him from obscurity, making him the father of His people.

This Christmas we will again be reminded that God came to humanity to find us. He knew that if it was left up to us we would remain lost. That's why He called Abraham. He found Abraham so that He could eventually find all His children through Abraham's descendant, Jesus Christ. Are you ready to be plucked from obscurity by God? Let's see what God will do this Christmas.

Genesis 21:1-6
Monday, November 29

“ Abraham was the father of Isaac.”

I remember when my son was born. I didn't think it was going to happen. After the birth of our first two children, Kayla and Krista, we had a stillborn child, Angela. Then came repeated rounds of radiation and chemotherapy for me as I struggled with recurring tumors. Then came a miscarriage, dashed hopes, and doctors' words of doubt. It didn't seem like God was ever going to bless my wife Diane and me with another child. Then a son was born! To us a son was given!

Abraham and Sarah must have been amazed, surprised by the joy of their son Isaac. Born so late in their life that they had considered themselves as good as dead. It wasn't just the birth of their son that was so amazing; it was the fulfillment of the covenant promise. The promise that Abraham would become a great nation had become laughable as he and Sarah grew old with no children. When Isaac was born, the sarcastic laughter of doubt turned to joy. God is good!

God has a way of making a way where there seems to be no way. I have seen it in my life. Abraham saw it in his life. Have you seen it in your life? Often we try to find our own way while despairing of God's way. Maybe you have grown tired of waiting for God. I certainly did. Abraham certainly did. But God is worth waiting for.

The thing about God is that He often comes to fulfill His promises to us just when all seems lost. When we can't find our own way, God finds a way. When our plans fail, when we can't find ourselves, when all appears to be lost, then God comes. With the birth of Isaac God begins the story of the birth of His son Jesus Christ. God decides to work through Abraham and His descendants to bring the Savior of the humanity into the world. Abraham and Sarah's joy becomes our joy when we embrace their descendant, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Are you ready for the joy of the Savior this Christmas?

Genesis 24:59-67
Tuesday, November 30

"Isaac was the father of Jacob."

I first saw her in the Calvin College Commons dining hall looking good in her field hockey skirt. When I called her later she didn't really remember me but agreed to go out with me. (What was she thinking?) I took her to a Calvin hockey game. Admission was free with our student ID cards so all I had to pay was 50 cents for a cup of hot chocolate. A great date! Once this woman, Diane Vanden Akker, saw me and saw how much I was willing to pay for our relationship to grow, why did she ever agree to go out with me again? I'm not really sure, but I do know that it was all God's planning. She became my wife. I didn't really find my wife. She certainly didn't find me. God found her for me. He found us for each other.

Isaac also had his wife found for him by God. The circumstances are a lot different than they were for Diane and me, but the story is the same. God is at work to bring Isaac and Rebekah together. When Isaac needs a wife, God provides. But, it isn't all about husbands and wives. It ultimately is about God providing life and salvation for us.

Isaac knew the great truth that God is at work to provide salvation and deliverance for us. After all, when it looked like Isaac was about to lose his life, God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice (see Genesis 22). Way back with Isaac and his father Abraham, God's covenant promises begin to bear fruit. Eventually God works through His covenant people to bring forth Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate substitute sacrifice for our sins. This is the promise of the Covenant.

It is true that a wife is a great present from God. But an even richer and fuller present this Christmas is to realize and know the gift of Isaac's descendant, Jesus Christ.

Genesis 27:1-29
Wednesday, December 1

“ Jacob …”

Being the second born child is not always a good thing. For Jacob it meant that the birthright went to his older brother, Esau. In the culture of that day it was the oldest son who received the full inheritance, the greatest blessing, the father's fullest attention and devotion. The Bible plainly tells us that Esau, not Jacob, was Isaac's favorite. No, it isn't always easy being the second born.

I too, was the second born. I always knew and felt that my father loved me just as much as my older brother, Dan, but I do remember that Dan always got to do things first. He went to kindergarten while I stayed home. Then he went to first grade while I stayed home again. I tried to make up for that later by going to first grade two years in a row, but somehow that didn't help. To make matters worse, while my older brother excelled in his classes, I excelled only in recess. No, it is not always fun being the younger brother.

But God had big things planned for Jacob. Yes, Esau had the physical skill, the looks, and all the privileges of his seniority, but God wanted Jacob. Why Jacob? Frankly it is hard to tell. The Bible tells us that Jacob is a lying, manipulative schemer. Jacob is always on the prowl to get something for himself, even if it means he has to lie, steal and cheat to do it. Why would God want Jacob?

Well, why would God want me? Why did He want Abraham? Why does He want you? It's all grace. God simply reaches out and finds lost people like Jacob, like me and like you.

Look around this Christmas. Do you see lost people? If you do (and I am sure you do), reach out to them and tell them that God has found them in Christ Jesus.

Genesis 32:22-32
Thursday, December 2

“ Jacob was the father of Judah”

In 1979, at the young age of 14 years old, I wrestled with God. Oh, my wrestling was nothing special or extraordinary like Jacob's wrestling with God. Mine was the more ordinary wrestling of a teenager mad about having to leave the Philippines in the middle of my freshman year in high school. I knew that there were lots of human reasons for our departure. But I also knew that God was in control. Why had He let this happen?

Jacob also knew that God was in control. God had appeared to him at Bethel years before (see Genesis 28) to let Jacob know that He had big plans for him. Now Jacob was near Bethel again, but still he didn't know or feel God's blessing. Oh, many good things had happened to him. His flocks and herds had grown, many children had been born, and he had grown wealthy. But still he wondered, “Where was God in all this?”

My wrestling with God did not result in anything all that special. No name change for me. No great promises from God came my way, and I didn't start walking with a limp until years and years later, and it had nothing to do with a divine wrestling match.

Jacob, on the other hand, had a divine encounter that changed his life and his name. God gave him the name Israel and reaffirmed his blessing. Jacob left the wrestling match as Father Israel and gave birth to the nation from which Christ would come.

I still don't know why we had to leave the Philippines in the middle of my ninth grade. Jacob still didn't know why God had chosen him. But after his wrestling with God, Jacob knew that he was blessed and that great things would happen for his people. Are you ready for God to do great things in your life?

Genesis 35:23-26
Friday, December 3

“ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah”

Judah is the fourth born son of Jacob. Yet, in time, he becomes the shining star among the brothers. His descendants become the dominant tribe in Israel. Jerusalem is located in the land of Judah. King David comes from the line of Judah. When the kingdom of Israel splits into a northern and southern kingdom, the southern half becomes known as Judah. Ultimately, Jesus Christ Himself comes from the line of Judah. What had Judah done to earn such favor? Why didn't the honor belong to Reuben, the first-born son?

Some like to point out that Reuben had committed some sexual indiscretions, which perhaps caused God's favor to be taken away from him. But Judah had his own sexual escapades which were far outside the bounds of God's law (see tomorrow's devotional). Others point out that Judah was willing to give up his life in place of his brother Benjamin for the sake of his father. But again, Reuben also had given up his freedom so that Benjamin could remain free. Simply put, Judah, Reuben and all the brothers who eventually form the twelve tribes of Israel, have their strengths and weaknesses. Why did God pick Judah in particular for the line of His Son?

There ultimately is only one satisfactory answer: God's sovereign choice and grace. God finds His people and works through them. Amazing, stunning, even unbelievable. But what other option would work? Are you capable of finding God? Can you live such an exemplary life as to impress God? I can't. Judah couldn't. None of his brothers could. In fact, the only one who could was a baby born in Bethlehem: Jesus Christ.

Christ has come so that we who are lost can be found in Him. Let's be found this Christmas.

Genesis 38:27-30
Saturday, December 4

“…whose mother was Tamar .”

In our devotional for today and the next couple of days I want to look at three women who surprise us by their inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus. We are surprised first of all by the inclusion of any women at all. In the culture of Jesus' day genealogies were usually traced through men. To include women was unusual. Moreover, as we will see, the women whom Matthew chooses to include are all of somewhat questionable repute. Of course many of the men were less than stellar as well. It is a good thing that God is gracious and forgiving or we would never have received a Savior at all. Maybe that is the whole point!

Tamar is Judah's daughter-in-law and also the mother of his twin sons. That doesn't sound very nice or right does it? It isn't. Both Judah and Tamar are at fault in this rather sordid story. You can read all the ugly details in Genesis 38.

In spite of the sinful and deceptive liaison between Judah and Tamar, Tamar is blessed with twin boys. Once again in the birth process we see God making interesting choices. The firstborn appears to be Zerah as he sticks his hand out first. But the hand is then withdrawn and Perez becomes the actual first born. Much like Jacob stole Esau's birthright, so it would seem that Perez bursts forth to take Zerah's birthright. Zerah becomes a footnote in biblical history while Perez joins the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Why does God pick Tamar? Why not work through one of Judah's wives to bring forth a legitimate offspring rather than working through Tamar and Judah's sordid affair? Likewise, we could ask, why Perez instead of Zerah? Are you beginning to note a pattern here? I hope so. God reaches into human history and into people's lives to bring them to Himself. Has God found you?