“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” — Matthew 18:11
When I was nineteen, I traveled with my home church to the Dominican Republic.
At the airport in Miami, Florida we waited in an extremely long line to leave the United States.
I remember our Pastor sternly warning us to be on our best behavior in line.
There was to be no joking. We were to have our passports and tickets ready for inspection.
Police and TSA officers were everywhere, watching.
As we waited in silence, we heard a piercing cry from the back of the line.
A muscular man in a black t-shirt and dark jeans began screaming in Spanish and fighting his way through the crowd.
The air became thick. My heart began to race.
The officers bolted toward the man. Police placed their hands on their weapons: ready to shoot if necessary.
The man was undeterred. He kept fighting through the crowd, screaming.
All chatter and movement ceased in that terminal, except for the man. He shoved people aside. His screams became louder. He kept exclaiming the same few words, like a mantra.
TSA reached him just as he made his way through the metal detectors. He writhed out of their control. Gasps came from the line.
And then, the man cried out with a loud groan. He stooped down, and picked up a two-year-old boy. “Mi nino! Mi nino!” (Spanish for “my son”) the man said over and over. He held his boy up so we all would understand.
His son had escaped from him in the line and this father was merely trying to get his boy back.
We all breathed a sigh of relief. We got it. Of course this father would be willing to face jail time and even death to get his boy back.
That moment in the airport became a memory burn for me. Here’s why:
This is how our Heavenly Father feels about each of us.
When we get lost, Jesus leaves everything and comes after us with the fervor of the Hound of Heaven. He is willing to face humiliation and death so we can be safe in His arms again.
Jesus is pursuing each student here at Compass Rose Academy. We know and value that each soul we encounter is so very very precious to God.
We join Christ to win back each lost child into His arms.
On His Team,
Amy Cornell, Campus Chaplain