Lost and found

My teddy bear was small, white and fluffy. He had no distinguishing features and didn't wear an outfit. He was just a simple little bear, but I was attached to him.
That is, until the day I lost him in the grocery store. At least, I thought that's where I last had him. I must have been three or four when my beloved bear went missing. I was sure the last place I had been carrying him was the grocery store, so my parents went back to check the lost and found. But no luck. They combed the store looking in the aisles and shelves, but he wasn't there either. After leaving their names and numbers with the service desk, my parents had to give up their search. They kept looking elsewhere, covering every square inch of the house and car, but that bear was no where to be found.
I was brokenhearted to lose my dear bear. My parents replaced him with another white stuffed animal, but it would never be the same. The new bear wasn't "my bear." My bear was gone forever.
My precious bear didn't have any monetary value. He wasn't a special edition or an antique. He didn't come from a designer store or even a Build-A-Bear Workshop where he would have been given a name and his own red heart. No, my bear was precious because he was mine. I loved him because I had claimed him and made him my very own.

That, my friend, is how God sees you, too. You are His precious, beloved child. You may not feel precious. Maybe you just feel ordinary, like a bear bought at the CVS checkout counter. But let me assure you, God has no ordinary children. He has chosen you and made you His own.
Just think about that...the maker of all the earth, the One who has put every star in the sky and makes the sun rise and set, has chosen you! Before you were even born He chose to love you and make you His very own. He has numbered every hair on your head and knows your very thoughts. To God you are worth more than silver or gold. You are His beloved white teddy bear. He loves you deeply.
When you and I go astray or become lost God yearns for us, just like I longed to find my missing bear. God does just what my parents and I did: He searches for us; He seeks us out. But unlike my lost bear who I had to give up searching for, God never ever gives up looking for us. He doesn't go out and buy another replacement for His lost child. There is no replacement to be had! So He never gives up His search and rescue efforts for that one precious, lost child. He never ceases in His search.
If you have never come to put your belief, trust and faith in Jesus Christ then God is still looking for you. Won't you come out of your hiding place? He is longing for you and searching for you. Today, right now, you can end that search. You can be found in Christ Jesus by repenting of your sins and declaring Jesus Christ as your risen Savior who died on the cross to forgive you of all your sins.The God of the universe is looking for you. He sent His one and only Son to save you. That is how precious and special you are to God. The love He has for you is so great that He will never give up searching for you. He will seek you out until you are found because you are His beloved "teddy bear" and there is no other that could ever replace you.

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?"
Luke 15:8