Choosing to Believe We’re Never Lost in the Crowd

@bethvogt

Yesterday I was praying about this blog post, having pretty much determined I wouldn’t write one for today. And yes, I always pray about my blog posts.

I told God if I didn’t have an idea by five o’clock, I wouldn’t write one. No harm, no foul. I’d just figure he was giving me the week off.

Five minutes later, I had an idea.

We’ve been watching the Mission: Impossible movie series as a family. Yes, we’re back to the “Your mission, should you choose to accept it” movies. I like them because of the impressive chase scenes.

But then I realized Ethan Hunt, the hero, is more than a super spy. He also has Christ-like qualities.

There’s a common theme in the Mission: Impossible movies: Ethan Hunt will not abandon a member of his team, even if it jeopardizes the overall mission. Some of his superiors, as well as the enemies they are trying to thwart, think this is Hunt’s fatal flaw. Even Ethan Hunt himself sees it as a weakness.

But in M: I Fallout, one boss gets it right, and tells Hunt: “You had a terrible choice to make in Berlin: recover the plutonium or save your team. You chose your team, and now the world is at risk. Some flaw deep in your core being simply won’t allow you to choose between the one life and millions. Now you see that as a sign of weakness. To me that’s your greatest strength.”

Hunt’s loyalty to his individual team members makes Hunt a hero. And it also makes Hunt Christlike.

Think about it: when Jesus tells the parable of how the shepherd goes after the one lost sheep, he’s showing us how God cares for each one of us. (Luke 15:1-7) We don’t get lost in the crowd. You aren’t more important than me. I’m not more important than you … and the mission isn’t more important than any of us.

In God’s economy, we are the mission.

There are so many different messages being thrown at us these days about what is important. In a politicized arena, the emotions intensify and voices get louder and louder because people want to be heard. They want to be right. More right than anyone else.

The one true message I wish people could hear is this: God values each and every one us. He sees us. He never loses track of us.

It’s all too easy to feel lost in the crowd these days, swallowed up in negativity and discontent and doubt. Believe me, I’ve battled those days. Those doubts.

But I’m choosing to remember the truth that even if I feel lost, I know Someone is always searching for me.

Maybe you needed that reminder today, too.

 

Choosing to Believe We're Never Lost in the Crowd https://bit.ly/3gbAzXs #hope #faith
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'Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning.' Quote by @b_kingsolver https://bit.ly/3gbAzXs #hope #perspective
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