Thoughts at Work

Today at work, my wondering eyes noticed a pitch lab wondering around outside the fence. I work at a pool inside of a park, so that was not surprising; I see many dogs and faces come and go daily. However, this dog was not accompanied by a human. For a couple of minutes, I watched it meander between wild grasses and patches of dirt. The first thought that drifted into my mind was "I hope it finds it's owner.", followed by a series of "They must be so sad... I wonder if there is a phone number on the collar, what can I do to help?... I can't imagine not being with something I love so dearly."
That got me thinking, it got me thinking about the lost people that float through life around us. How God is our owner, how we get lost, how his heart hurts when one of His precious lambs go missing, how many people are wondering this earth like lost puppies, not knowing how to find their home or that they're even lost.
This dog that I saw, trotting through the brown shrubbery that resides on the grounds of a Texan August, tongue out, tail wagging, appeared content. I then envisioned what it would look like tonight, a week from now, a month from now, when it got cold in the winter. It would not have a daily scoop of food, a comfy blanket to cuddle under, protection, or satisfaction. The lost may appear happy, frolicking on their own paths of temptation and self-satisfaction when times are good, but what will they have when the winter of suffering rolls in, or when they realize that they have been starved from pure peace and joy? A dog may not need an owner when they scamper through flowers, but they rely on their owner when the things they need become scarce. The lost find fleeting joy in their path of destruction, but when in enemy succeeds in stealing, killing, and destroying, they will not know where to find a bandage to mend the scarred and sick soul or a meal to calm the storm of pain quaking within.
When someone finds a lost dog, or at least when I do, I attempt to contact the owner, find it's home, help reunite the family. Us believers, those who cling to our leash and avoid going beyond the gates need to understand that's what God calls us to do: seek out the lost in this world, and bring them back to their owner, their shepherd. Instead of calling a number on a collar, we dial the tone of prayer, leaving a message of relentless pleads. We can offer one a meal, but eventually even the pantries of believers run empty, God is the only true bountiful harvest. Our homes cannot shelter every lost, wounded, or homeless dog, but the Kingdom of God will always have vacant rooms, so hollow that the stale air lies frozen, waiting to fill a lung with new life and satisfy a barely beating heart. So go, search for the lost in the world. When you find them, cling so tightly to the leash that your knuckles turn white, and guide them to the Lord, walk with them in their faith, go before, carry them with you and stay close.

 {Verses}

• "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? {Matthew 18:12}
• "Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." { Psalm 107:4-9}