Lost and Found

My Uncle Grayson had two beagle hunting dogs, Peppie and Friskie.  He kept them on long chains because they had only one thing on their minds: following a scent.  They would run away if they weren’t chained to their doghouses.  Uncle Gray would use his dogs to scare up rabbits from thickets.  The dogs would go into the thicket where Uncle Gray couldn’t go.  When the rabbit would run out of the briar patch avoiding the dogs, Uncle Gray was ready with his 12-gauge shotgun.  But often, the dogs would run too far following a scent.  Uncle Gray would call to them, but they would be too far to hear or too involved to care.  Uncle Gray would have to spend a day or two looking for his beagles.  And it was a glad reunion when they were found.  I’m not sure who was happier to see the other: Uncle Gray or his dogs.  Hey, have you ever lost something important?  It could have been a child, or a family pet, or a cell phone or a wallet.  What a relief when you finally found that which was lost.  King David was a great man, but he went down the slippery slope of sin.  He went from lust to adultery, to conspiracy, and to murder.  But when Nathan, the prophet, confronted David, David readily admitted his sin.  And David was even relieved that his sin was found out.  With his secret sin exposed, and David could confess and forsake it.  David said in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  David could restore his relationship with the God whom he loved.  Hey, do you have secret sins that you are harboring?  They are they like a pet rattlesnake!  Why not get rid of your secret sins and come clean with the dear Lord?  He will forgive you if you forsake your sins.  And, like David, you can restore your sweet fellowship with God.  You can be as happy as Uncle Gray … or his dogs.