By Jeff Ginn
It was an exciting day when I got my high school senior ring. Not long afterward I was riding with my friend in his new pickup truck. We were headed to play a basketball game. I decided to take off my ring and lay it on the dashboard of the truck. As we rounded a curve in the road, the ring slid along the dash and promptly dropped into the AC vent.
We tried to fish out the ring but with no luck. My friend took his truck to the dealership but they said that it would cost more to take out the dash and retrieve the ring than it was worth. As far as I could see, there was nothing to be done.
Months went by and my friend sold his truck. For all I knew, I had kissed that ring goodbye forever.
Years later my family and I were living in South America as missionaries. The phone rang and my mom said that someone had returned my ring! I could scarcely believe my ears.
Here’s the story of how it was returned. The truck had ended up in a junkyard as scrap. Someone had taken out the dashboard to salvage a part. In doing so they spotted a ring. They saw that it was from West Memphis High School and the year was 1979. My name was carved into it as well. Armed with that information (and a good dose of old-fashioned honesty), they were able to trace it back to my family.
Few things are as joyful as when something of value is lost and then found. What happened to my ring is a parable of what can happen with people. People get lost. Nothing compares to the joy of finding a loved one that was lost and bringing that person home.
One thing is clear from scripture — Jesus is intent on finding the lost and getting them home. We are to be like Him — intent on finding the lost.
Jeff Ginn is senior pastor of Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. This editorial first appeared on Ginn’s Facebook page.
