Lost It?

Sometimes, I can’t find something.

Now occasionally it is because I tend to worship at the idol of convenience. I lay my keys down at the first available flat spot, regardless of where it might be. And sometimes the spot isn’t flat, so they fall somewhere else.

I put my wallet near me, where “me” happens to be at that time. After all, that’s easier than walking three steps across the room to put my wallet and keys in the key holder by the front door.

True story (you can ask my mom; she will probably remember): When I was in high school, I lost my baseball glove for the better part of an off-season. I finally found it one day. I had put a ball in it and put it under my mattress to help form it. One day I finally wondered why the foot of my bed had a lump in it. I found out why … and found my glove at the same time.

Another true story: I spent over an hour one day in my office looking for my keys. I found them hanging on my belt, where I kept them in those days. You would have though the jingling of the keys every time I moved might have been a tip-off. Nope, not for me.

Mostly, I can’t find something because the last time I used it was so long ago that I don’t remember where I put it. The less I use something, the less inclined I am to remember where to find it.

Sometimes I hear people (or read people) use the Scriptures in a particularly insightful way. I wonder, “How do they do that?” And then I remember it is because they use the Scripture all the time. They don’t misplace the stuff of Scripture because it gets used to regularly in their lives.

The reason most of us don’t use Scripture very well, either in our own lives or in the lives of others, is because we don’t use it very often.

Scripture is given to us to shape our thinking and beliefs, and therefore to shape our lives.

It is the knife of a surgeon, carefully cutting away the disease. It is the hands of a mother, tenderly caring for a scraped knee. It is the instruction of artisan, patiently explaining his trade to an apprentice. It is the wrench of a mechanic, skillfully fixing that which is broken. It is the arms of a father, strongly holding his child during a thunderstorm of life.

It is the word of the living God, giving life to the dead and preparing them for eternity.

Love it enough to know it. Use it enough to find it when you need it.