The Parable of the Lost Cell Phone

Father’s Day. A time of honor. A time of memory making. A time to call the police…

I just needed to fetch two items from the grocery store after church. We had a special honorary lunch planned with family. 

Rather than hauling my purse, I grabbed my wallet, tucked my phone under my arm, and zipped into the store. I made it out in record time. Happy with my speedy exit, I reached for my phone to message my sister and let her know we were on our way. Where was it? 

A sinking feeling washed over me. I knew I’d taken it inside the store with me. I retraced my steps. Nothing. I spoke with the cashier. She hadn’t seen it. I found the manager and pleaded my case. No cell phones had been turned in to lost and found. My posture sank as I harrumphed back to the car. 

We realized the little rectangular cell phone containing much of my life’s information and photographic memories was gone. My husband had been trying to remotely access the locator app for my phone, and after multiple tries at passwords (I have a horrible habit of forgetting them) it worked. 

I couldn’t believe it. Before my eyes flashed a little dot on the map. And it was moving. Across town. It was clear. My cell phone wasn’t lost. Someone had taken it.

We began to follow the dot as it moved. My daughter watched Veggie Tales and snacked on crackers oblivious to the fact that we were on a wild goose chase. We honed in on the location as the little dot ceased movement. 

My husband called the police. If prayer were visible, I’m certain that the passenger’s seat of our car would’ve looked like a spinning disco ball catching reflections of the sun. 

He got out of the car when a man came out of the house and asked if we needed anything. 

Unless absolutely necessary, I avoid confrontation like the plague. My husband? Not so much. Someone had taken something important from his wife. On Father’s Day. 

A conversation began, and the most interesting thing happened. The man denied having taken the phone. Once my husband calmly and clearly explained a few things to him including the fact that police were forthcoming, the man went inside briefly and returned with my phone. 

I got my phone back. Along with quite possibly one of the highest blood pressure readings of my life. 

We never would’ve found the phone without the internal tracking device.

We have an internal tracking device as well. Ephesians 1:4 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” We are His. He knows when we are in peril. 

We can get ourselves tangled in situations much the same. We vehemently deny any wrongdoing. After all, it was just a little lie. Just a little rudeness. Just a little fit of anger. The father of lies (John 8:44) wants nothing more than for us to experience the ramifications of poor choices as he triumphantly celebrates. Then the Calvary rolls in. The One Who is the beginning and the end. The One Whom, as Ephesians highlights, “chose us in him before the creation of the world.”

We don’t belong to the enemy. We belong to the Rescuer. He knows exactly where we are. The enemy may not want to release us from his grasp, but the enemy can not stand in the presence of the Almighty. 

The Almighty seeks us out and takes us back to the fold under the care of the Shepherd (Luke 15:3-6). 

Father, thank You that You are with us and for us today. Thank You that there is not a single step we take without Your presence surrounding us. You are the Good Shepherd. Help us to seek You today.