Lost and Found

 

I enjoy reading, and now that my kids are no longer babies I find the time to read. I recently got the opportunity to read Sarah Jakes latest book Lost & Found.

It was an engaging retelling of her life thus far. She has made lots of decisions that resulted in a harder life than it needed to be, but shares how she seems to finally come around.

There were some points on how to love our friends and family as they walk through the consequences of their actions. But it seemed more directed at those who are still lost in the detours of their life.

The books biggest disappointment was the lack of scriptural references. Even near the end when she talks about the story of Naomi and Ruth, she references one of her previous books instead of the Bible which was the original source.

Romans 3:23-24 encompasses the entirety of her story.²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Yet the opportunity to share Gods redemptive love in His own words was noticeably ignored.

Never the less she still wrote some lines that really spoke to me.

Just remember when you're dealing with a person who is weary, you don't want your rage to add to their brokenness. You see, most of the time, you don't need someone to tell you you're wrong. You carry the grief of being lost with every turn you make. The last thing you need when you're stranded is someone yelling at you to find your way.

Our sin and shame become a filter that we believe the world sees us through. when really we just reflect onto people that we believe about ourselves.

How can we honor Christ's life if we never explore the depths of His forgiveness or the beauty of grace?

She was saved by the grace her family continued to show her. That grace didn't swoop in to fix her mistakes, or make everything magically better. A simple hug and silent acceptance let her know that no matter what they loved her right now, bumps bruises and all.

I know that it is hard to see loved ones make choices that will make their lives unnecessarily harder. We want to tell them how to fix it, because watching them walk through the consequences is hard. The parable of the prodigal son comes to mind. Stay home and tend to what needs doing, let them endure the consequences, but when they return and repent.. run, be quick to hug, love.
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