Lost and Found

While exploring the yard, my youngest son Brady (5) found an old toy police car. I remembered the toy car from when I first gave it to him. I’m sure every parent could relate to the story. Brady and I were in a local retail pharmacy store and he saw this key chain with a toy police car dangling on the end. The toy was small , shiny and had a real LED light on top that flashed red when you pressed a button. This toy quickly became his temporary obsession. You could imagine the ordeal that followed. Brady’s sole survival depended on me buying that toy car for him.

So I did.

He loved that car and took it with him everywhere. Until one day, it was gone. Lost. Probably devoured by the black hole at the bottom of the toy box … with my spare set of car keys. We searched for it, but came up toy-less.

Time passed until one day … the toy car was found in the yard

Time and the elements had their way with the lost toy. It no longer resembled the small shiny toy we remembered. It was rusted inside and out with dirt where the windows used to be. The LED on top was broken and the rubber was completely gone from the tiny wheels. By definition, it was BUSTED.

In fact, the only thing that remained intact was Brady’s love for that toy car. He brought it to me with the same excitement he had when he first saw it in the store. “Dad, look what I found!” It was hard for me to find the same excitement, looking at the rusted carcass of the once functional toy.

“Daddy, can you wash this off for me?” It was an odd request for sure. Did he really want to play this rusted car? It looked more like a health hazard than a play toy.

“Lets throw this one away,” I said to Brady. “It’s broken and dirty.”

Brady was insistent with his request for a car wash. “No daddy, you just need to wash it off and it’ll be better.” Brady sincerely believed the toy was repairable, even though I didn’t see it that way. He saw that toy with a different set of eyes. His argument was strong and passionate.

I washed the toy.

The reunion was grand. It was like the toy was brand new, at least in Brady’s eyes. Boy and beloved toy together again. Just like it used to be.

In your mind’s eye, picture this scene in a heavenly throne room. GOD and JESUS, Father and Son, are troubled. Their most-loved creation, skillfully made in their image, has become lost. They glean a smile, remembering the day they created man and woman. But tears fall as they realize that sin has taken it’s toll on their loved creation and it has become dirty and broken.

Then JESUS brings you to GOD saying, “Dad, look what I found! This one just needs to be washed and it’ll be better.” Jesus seeks you and when He finds you, He sees you through a different set of eyes … the eyes of a savior. Jesus sincerely believes that you are repairable. His argument to the Father is strong and passionate.

So, GOD washes you … forever. The reunion will be grand!

Just like it used to be…