Coming Home

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)
 
I grew up in a family where I had three sisters, one who was nine years older than me, and two who were younger. After I got saved, I shared Jesus with my sisters because I wanted them all to know Christ. The sad story was that one of my little sisters got involved with the wrong kinds of people. In the late sixties and early seventies, she found herself in the drug culture.  
 
She eventually got married and had a child, but she went through a divorce. Then, we lost her! We reported her missing to all of the law enforcement agencies, and we filed a Missing Person Report. We literally lost my sister! We didn't have any idea where she was after the early eighties.  
 
Then, I got a call this last year from a detective who said, “We have some remains; now with DNA, we have been able to tie some things together. We need a DNA sample from you and from your sister who is living to verify that this is your sister.” 
 
It turns out that it was my sister. She had been lost for almost 40 years, and they had found her. The police report stated that they had found her with a gym bag and some clothes. She was on a farm in the brush. They found her bones and her deteriorated body, but there was no sign of foul play.  
 
I know in my heart that she had probably hitch-hiked. She had likely been at one of the drug houses and they had probably overdosed. It makes me sad that my sister had opportunity after opportunity to come home, but she chose not to come home. I wish my sister had come to her senses and come home, but she didn’t.   
 
I know I’m not the only one who feels this way about someone close to me. I am sure you have family and friends who have yet to come home. Don’t lose hope; it is never too late. You need to be praying that one day they will come to their senses. We need to have open arms, and expectant eyes, ready for them to come home. We should not be a family with folded arms, and saying, “It’s about time,” but rather, “I'm just so glad you are home.”  
 
Maybe, I have just described you. You are way out there and you are the one who needs to come home. God wants you to realize that He is waiting for you to come home. Maybe you find yourself in the position of the prodigal who stayed home. He is waiting for you to have a change of heart. Stop being full of yourself, mad or angry, and making everything about you. Our desire is to join with God. Because you have been found, you are looking for others to be found. Christianity entails being found by God. We must start looking for others who need to be found, before it is too late.