We're So Blessed: A Fun 5-Day Family Devotional From CAINSample

Lost & Found

Matthew 18:12–14

STORY: Madison’s Hide & Seek (Taylor)

Growing up, Madison wasn’t quite ready for the fun to be finished. She hoped to spend the night with our friends and keep the good times rolling, but to her disappointment, our parents said, “No, not tonight.” But even though she heard “no,” Madison’s mind began to come up with a plan. She thought to herself, if I can just hide in the back of our friend’s car, they will drive all the way back home and then I can pop out for a big “Surprise!” moment. We’ll all laugh, and they’ll be so happy that I’ll be able spend the night after all.

So, without telling a soul, Madison quietly opened the minivan door, crawled like a worm until she was hidden under the back seat, and stayed as quiet as a mouse. Before too long, our family friends loaded into their minivan, cranked the engine, and began the long drive back home. Madison had done it! She had successfully hidden and was now along for the ride. Now she just had to wait for the right moment to pop out and give everyone the biggest surprise of their lives!

Meanwhile, it wasn’t long before Mom and Dad realized they hadn’t seen Madison in a while. They checked in her bedroom, they checked in the living room, they checked the backyard . . . no Madison. They checked with the neighbors, and Madison wasn’t there either, so panic began to set in. Our parents loaded into our old minivan and drove through the neighborhood searching high and low for Madison. When they couldn’t find her, they began calling friends to help with their search. They even got the local police department involved, and a full hunt for Madison ensued. With terror in their minds, our parents sped down the highway and eventually caught up to our family friends and waved them over to the side of the road. Little did they know, a very well-hidden Madison lay quietly giggling under the back seat.

“Have you seen Madison?” Dad shouted worriedly. “We haven’t seen her since you all left the house. We’re getting worried, and we’ve already called the police!”

“No, we haven’t seen her!” they replied.

Finally, to Madison, the moment she was waiting for had come. She wriggled out from under the back seat, jumped up into the air, and shouted “Surprise!” But to her surprise, the look on everyone’s faces wasn’t pure happiness. They all nearly fainted with relief as their worst nightmare was resolved: Madison was not lost but found.

Mom and Dad wanted to be angry, but in that moment, they couldn’t feel anything but pure joy and relief to see sweet Madison’s smiling face again. Dad scooped Madison into his arms and carried her home more thankful than ever to have his “curious” daughter back in his sight. Just like our Dad stopping at nothing to find Madison, our God loves us so much that He will find us when we too are lost and far from Him and bring us home safe to His presence. Today’s scripture tells us that it is not God’s will that we should perish, but He desires to bring us “home” to a relationship with Him. And when we are back at home with our God, as verse 13 says, “He will rejoice.”

Reflection Questions

• What part of the Parable of the Lost Sheep stands out to you?

• What do you think of the shepherd leaving his ninety-nine other sheep to find the lost one?

• Does Madison’s dad react like the shepherd when Madison goes missing?

• God loves us so much that He will come and find us when we’re lost and bring us home safe. How does that make you feel?

Activity

It’s time for a good old-fashioned game of sardines! Choose one family member to go hide, and then everyone else looks for them. If you find the person hiding, you have to hide with them! The last person to find the hiders is “it” and hides first next round. Happy hiding!