Five Words to Live By: Found

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. 

Luke 15:32, NIV

Recommended Reading Luke 15:8-10

Some things only work in pairs: shoes, socks, gloves, the two parts of scissors, the two wings of a bird, the two sides of a coin. And that applies to Jesus' mission in the world: seeking and finding. It makes no sense that Jesus Christ would come into the world to seek those who are lost and not find them. 

Jesus was criticized by "Pharisees and scribes" for socializing and sharing meals with "sinners" (Luke 15:1-2). Earlier, Jesus had answered their objections in a word: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32). "Sinners" were those who needed to be found -- those He came seeking. To amplify the point, He told three stories about "finding." A single sheep was lost and found, a coin was lost and found, and a son was lost and found (Luke 15:3-32). He meant that He associated with sinners -- and found them -- because they knew they were lost; they knew they needed finding, unlike the Pharisees. 

If you have been found by Jesus, it is because He came seeking you. If you want Him to find you, tell Him you are lost and want to be found. 

It is only as God seeks us that we can be found of Him. God is seeker rather than sought.
Arthur Skevington Wood