Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

It happens almost every laundry day.

It is frustrating. It is a mystery that has never been solved in our house. It is the mystery of the lost socks. If you can explain to me how it happens, I would welcome your theories. How is it when you faithfully place your dirty socks in the hamper each day, carry said hamper to the laundry, place the clothes into the washer, transfer to the dryer, and finally back to your room to fold, you realize that somewhere in the process a sock has been lost?

You know that the hamper is empty. The washer is empty. The dryer is empty. You retrace your steps and find there is not a single sock on the floor that somehow slipped out of the basket. Where did the lost sock go? It is a mystery still unsolved in our house. You may have an entire drawer full of socks but still are left wondering how you lost a sock. Where where did it go?

According to the silly calendar in my room, May 9 was “Lost Sock Memorial Day.”

So, I paused for a moment and considered all the lost socks in my life and the fact that, just this month, at least one of my socks has disappeared into the abyss where all lost socks go. I have a place of hope in my house where socks that have lost their match are placed in the hope that someday, somehow the lost will be found. There have been miracles in the lost sock saga when—magically at times—the lost has been found, and the socks are paired up again and are ready to be worn.

There have also been tragic lonely times when the lost socks are never found and finally the remaining sock is repurposed with another sock that may be a close match.

I am glad that when it comes to God there is no mystery to His creation. His eye is on the sparrow, and He watches over you and me (Matthew 10:29). I am glad God searches for the lost, even when He already has a whole bunch in the sheepfold. He wants that one lost sheep to be with the others (Matthew 18:12,13).

God wants all of us to be saved, and according to 2 Peter 3:9, He is not slack concerning His promise but is longsuffering toward not wanting any of us to perish. He wants us all to come to repentance.

I am sure glad that God looks out for us, and it is not a mystery where we are.

I wonder if we have the same attitude towards those who may be missing from our congregations. Maybe instead of a lost sock memorial day, we can instead remember those who may have lost their relationship with God and begin praying for them, looking for them, and celebrating when we see them renew their relationship with God.

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PS. If you have read this far and would like to receive a free book, we will give a free copy of Finding Faith in the Old Testament to the first person who calls Kaitlyn at 253.681.6008.