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.  
Posted in
Tagged with , ,

1 Comment


Debbie - February 5th, 2023 at 7:42am

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your sister

Recent

Archive

 2023

Categories

Tags

Kingdom abandoned abandon ability acceptance accepted accomplish addiction admit advancing advice afraid aligning align allowed allow altered amazing anxious appeared apply assurance assures attention attentive attitude authority baptized beaituful behavior beliefs believed believers believer believes believe believing belong benefits blend blessed blesses blessings blessing bless bond brokenhearted burden burial buried capable cares care caring celebrate challenges change changing charges charge churches church clarity climate comfortable comfort commanded commandment commitment committed communicate communicating communion community companion comparisons complete compromised compromise concerning concerns confessed confess confidence confident conflict confused confusion connected connection contact contentment context control conviction convince corrected correcting created create creation critical crucifixation culture cure customers daily decide dedicated delivers depression description deserved deserves deserve desie designed desired desires desire desrtuction destiny develop difference direction directly direct disappeared discouraged discovered discover display effort embrace embracing emotional emotions emotion emplower employer encounter encouraged encouragement encouragers encourages encourage encouraging encouragment endured endure energy engaged engagement engage engaging enjoyed enjoys enjoy enslaved ensure equip eternal eternity ethical evaluate everlasting example excited excitement expand express faithfully faithfulness faithful faith family famous favor fear feelings feeling fellowship finish focused focusing focus followed followers follower following follow forgave forgiveness forgiven forgive fortunate foundation freedom free fresh friendship friends fulfilled fulfillment fullness future gave generosity generous gifts given givers giver give giving glad glimpse glorfiy glorify glorious glory godly goodness gospel grace grateful gratitude grieve growth grow guidance handling happy hardship healed healing heal hearing hearts heart heaven help hesitate holy honest honored honoring honors honor hopefulness hopeful hopeless hopes hope humbly impactful impact importance important information innocent inspiration instant interest intimately investment invitation invite journey joy justifying knowing knowledge known laborers leadership leaders leading lead leaning learning learn legacy lonely longing loved loves love loving manipulate marriage mature meditate meditation memeber merciful mercy message minds minister ministry miracles miracle missing mission moment moun notice nourishment obedience obedient obey obligation observer offering operate opinions opportunities opportunity oppressed overcome overpowered overwhelmed passage passing passion pastors patient peace peae perfect perform persecuted personal plan pleasing pondering powerful power praised praises praiseworthy praise praising prayed prayers prayer praying pray preached preacher preaching preach prepare presence prevent primary principle probelm problem process proclaim produce promised promises promise promote prosperous prosper protecting protect proud proved prove provide purity purpose pursuing raise realized realize realizing rebelling receive recieved recover recuperation redeems redemption refuse reignite rejected relationship religion religious remember reminds repentance repent respect responsibility resurrection return reveals royalty running sacrifice safe salvation satisfied satisfy saved save scriptual secured seeking seek seperate seperation sermon servants servant served server serve shame share sharing significance sinners sin solve soul speak spirirt spiritually spiritual spirit spread srve standing strength stressed stress strong struggles struggle struggling submit substain success suffering supportive support surrendered surrender surrounding surround talents teachers teaches teach tears temptation tempted thoughtful together tolerance tradition treat troubling true truly trusting trust truth trutyh unbelievers understand unshamed valuable values value victory violated vulnerable wants willingly willing wisdom wise witnessed witness wonderful wonder worrying worry worshipping worship wrath