The Wanderer

"Yeah, I went with nothing, nothing but the thought of you.

I went wandering. "

“11b I myself will search from my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered…” (Ezekiel 34:11b-12)

For fear of sounding simplistic, there’s something that we need to understand as the heart of the gospel. Jesus came for us. John 3:16 tells us very plainly that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that those who believe might have life. To use the words of this song, Jesus came and walked and wandered and gave himself with nothing but the thought of you. He came looking for you.
He came to rescue you: from sin, from shame, from hurt, from loneliness, from anger, from isolation, from fear. He came to give you forgiveness, and worth, and wholeness, and community, and joy, and connection, and life.

We can get caught up in a lot of things that aren't all that important. Debates about morality; disagreements about theology; we can get spun up about which translation is the preferred translation or whether or Jesus is my Homeboy or Holy.  When we get stuck in these rabbit holes we forget the simple core of the story.  Jesus came wandering.  Jesus came to extend grace when we need it the most and have earned it the least.  

We can be very good at putting words like "useless" and "worthless" into the self identification vocabulary of other people.  I want to do my part to drop some friendlier phrases and to remind you that the One who made you came looking for you; he's wandering, calling your name, trying to lead you home.