I’m missing a gray sock. It’s been missing for a week. I’ve looked everywhere for it; behind the hamper, under the dryer, inside pant legs and shirt sleeves. I do not know where it has gone. The other gray sock is just hanging out on my dresser waiting patiently for it to reappear. Everyday I’m reminded about my lost gray sock and wonder if it will ever come back.

We do not read of any missing or lost socks throughout scripture. I imagine it had to happen at some point during those days of old. Solomon, in all his God given wisdom, once said “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) We all have, at one point or another, misplaced something. It’s not a new social media trend. It just happens, but maybe it happens to remind us of some very important parables Jesus taught in Luke 15.

We read about several missing things in Luke 15; a lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7, a lost coin in Luke 15:8-10, and a lost boy in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus uses parables to teach a lesson using ordinary, could happen to anyone, events and weaves a spiritual meaning into it. They bring our minds back to these spiritual lessons when our ordinary lives encounter such things as a missing sock.

The lost sheep:

Shepherds had a special bond with their sheep. The sheep knew the shepherds voice. The shepherd could tell one sheep apart from the others. The shepherd went searching for this one lost sheep because he cared deeply about this sheep. Many of us will never lose a sheep, but might have lost some other pet. Remember how you felt when you finally found your missing pet? The shepherd in the parable picked up his no longer lost sheep and carried it home on his shoulders. The shepherd rejoiced with his friends and neighbors when he found his sheep. Jesus sums up the parable with this truth – “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

The lost coin:

Surely I’m not the only one to have lost some money in my lifetime. The thing is we often don’t notice it until we find a random $5 in our coat pocket from last winter. The woman in this parable had lost a coin. She had ten pieces of silver and lost one. She didn’t just say, “well, at least I still have nine” and went on with her day. She looked intently for this one lost coin. I can just imagine how she was crawling around with her candle in hand looking in every nook and cranny till it was found. She, like the shepherd, rejoiced with her friends and neighbors when she found it. Jesus sums up this parable with this truth – “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

The lost boy:

Nothing quite scares you more than losing a child, physically or spiritually. I’ve lost my daughter, physically, once at an amusement park. She came into the restroom after I was in there with her sister. I didn’t know she was in this busy restroom until after I walked out one of the doors and saw she wasn’t with her dad anymore. Let me tell ya, panic ensued. The awful thoughts that run through your mind during those few minutes, which seem to last forever, don’t even compare to losing a sheep or a coin. She was found and we were so happy. The lost boy in this parable wasn’t really lost physically. He knew his way home. He decided he wanted something different than the life he currently had. He asked for his inheritance, which his father willingly gave him, and went off to a far country and wasted it all. He fed pigs and got to the point that the pigs food looked appetizing. When he realized what he had done and how even his father’s servants had plenty to eat, he went home with the hope of just being a servant in his father’s house. Luke 15:20 is a beautiful description of a father’s love for his lost son – “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” You never give up looking for your lost child and when they are found you kill the fatted calf (Luke 15:27) I find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t sum up this parable for us. We all have some sort of attachment to this parable, whether it’s to the Father, the lost son, or the older son, that we can sum it up with a truth ourselves. Our Heavenly Father always loves us, no matter how lost we find ourselves we can comeback to our Father, and if we never leave the Father for a far country our attitude can get in the way of our faithfulness.

A lost sock is trivial, but the lessons it reminds me of are not. Jesus came to this earth to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The hard truth is that sometimes I am what is lost. My life, like that lost sheep, can get pulled away from the Good Shepherd (John 10:7-18). My life, like that lost coin, can get lost in this dark world if I’m not shining my light properly (Matthew 5:14-16). My life, like that lost boy, can at times be more self focused instead of Father focused (Galatians 2:20). While I am still missing my gray sock, my aim is to always remember and always lean on God’s truths no matter how lost I may feel.

By: Kristina Odom