As I write the eyes of the world are focussed on the desperate search to find a tiny submarine lost in the North Atlantic. Last seen on Sunday the vessel and its five occupants were diving to see the wreck of the Titanic, but contact was lost, and nothing has been heard since. The challenge of finding the vessel is immense and if stranded on the ocean floor there are few options for a successful retrieval. But every effort is being made and no expense spared. The thoughts and prayers of many are with them.
The concern that we feel for those who are lost echoes the heart of God that we see revealed in the life of Jesus. While we may not realise it the Bible says that we are lost when we have no relationship with our creator. We are, as it were, stranded at the bottom of the sea with no means of being able to lift ourselves up. But God in his mercy did not want any to perish and spared no effort and no expense to rescue us. He sent his son, Jesus, who said he had come to ‘seek and save the lost’ and promises that all who look to him will be saved.