Last Friday, I listened to my whole Les Miserables soundtrack (the original London cast version :)). I love that story. It is chock-full of pictures of law and
grace, love and loss, selfishness and sacrifice. I can’t help but sing along with Jean Valjean
in “Who Am I?” and tear up when Eponine sings “A Little Fall of Rain.”
But this time, this story – like all good stories – took me “deeper”
into my own life in a way I wasn’t expecting.
I realized that like Cosette & Eponine – I desire to be found.
And I think that
being found is one of the deepest longings of any human heart.
In Les Miserables,
after Marius and Cosette exchange glances on the street, they find that they
can’t stop thinking about one another.
Cosette says:
“How strange, this feeling that life’s begun at last
This change, can people really fall in love so fast?
What’s the matter with you, Cosette?
Have you been too much on your own?
So many things unclear, so many things unknown.
In my life – there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem
wrong
In my life – there are times when I catch in the silence the sound
of a faraway song
And it sings – of a world I long to see
Out of reach – just a whisper away – waiting for me!
…In my life – I’m no longer alone
Now that love in my life is so near
Find me
now, find me here!”
Marius is searching for Cosette, and with the help of his
friend Eponine, he finds her. On his
way, Marius says:
“In my life, she has burst like the music of angels the light of the
sun.
And my life seems to stop as if something is over and something has
scarcely begun…”
And when they do finally meet…Marius says: “I am
lost…” Cosette says: “I am found.”
Isn’t this the essence of love?
Wanting to be found? Wanting to
be part of a beautiful story or song?
Wanting someone to risk all to be with you?
And then, God reminded me – He already did.
In this story, I am like Cosette! When I realize God’s deep love for me, life
truly can begin at last. I have caught
the sound of a faraway song…and that song echoes with the beauty of my Savior,
Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who risked
all in his pursuit of me.
I also started to think that in some ways, I am also like
Marius. Because truly, it’s hard to
imagine God looking me and saying that I burst like “the music of angels” and “the
light of the sun”. (which makes His
pursuit of me all the more amazing!) However,
just like Marius imperfectly pursued Cosette – I imperfectly pursue Jesus. Isaiah 65:1-2 shows us that God even
lets himself be found by those who do not truly seek Him! And in my life, Jesus has burst like music of
angels…the light of the sun. When He
bursts into my life…something is over (my selfish story) and something has
begun (His GREAT story).
Isn’t it great, though – that when talking about God’s love
story – that we will NEVER be like Eponine?
In one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs of the musical,
Eponine speaks of her unrequited love for Marius…and what she longs for:
“On my own
Pretending he’s
beside me
All alone,
I’ll walk with him
till morning
Without him, I feel
His arms around me
And when I lose my
way I close my eyes,
And he has found me…”
That deep longing of Eponine’s heart was never fulfilled. Marius never “found” Eponine in the way she
wanted.
Jesus always finds us.
But, lest you think the longing for being found is just a
romantic notion, I want to remind you of the 2007 movie August Rush. Remember the
storyline? A young “orphan” boy named
Evan (Freddie Highmore) believes his parents are still alive. He believes that music will draw his family
back together…and he ends up playing on the streets and attracting the attention
of Wizard (Robin Williams), a man who knows a musical prodigy when he sees
one. Wizard asks the young boy an
important question:
“What do you want to
be in the world?
I mean, the whole
world? What do you want to be?
Close your eyes and
think about that.”
Evan replies: “Found.”
See? We all want
it. We want someone to express to us that
we are valuable and worthy enough to be pursued, chased after, searched for….we
want to be found.
When we look at the three parables Jesus tells in Luke 15,
we know that He knows it, too.
The Parable of the Lost
Sheep:
Luke 15:3-7 “So he
told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost,
until he finds it? And when he has found
it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors,
saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for
I have found my sheep that was lost.’
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner
who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’”
The Parable of the Lost
Coin:
Luke 15:8-10 “Or what
woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp
and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together
her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice
with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the
angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the
Prodigal Son:
Luke 15:11-32
“…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you. I
am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fatted calf and kill it, and
let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive
again; he was lost, and is found.’
And they began to celebrate…”
One of the deepest longings of our hearts – to be pursued,
to be searched for – is completely fulfilled for us by the God of the
universe. There is no greater love than Jesus’
pursuit of us.
I don’t think I can express my joy (and thankfulness….Thanksgiving
is next week!) any more fully than through the words of one of my favorite
hymns:
All my life I had a longing
For a drink from some clear spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within
Hallelujah, He has found me!
The One my soul so long has craved.
Jesus satisfies my longings
Through His blood I now am saved.
Like Cosette, I can joyfully say, “I am found.”
