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A Loss That Hurts

It takes a fellow hunter to understand the pain of losing an animal in a hunting experience. You miss a shot; the animal you’ve shot runs off and another hunter gets it; or you hit the animal but can’t find it.

It’s the much-anticipated opening day of the 2016 deer season. It’s enjoyable; I see some deer but no shooter buck.

The next day, I return to the same tree stand. There’s a nice 10-point in the area. The morning starts slow. I’m not seeing much deer movement. It threatens to be one of those dead days.

That all changes about 10:25 AM. At about 125 yards, I spot the deer that’s almost certainly the 10-point. Alone, he moves unhurriedly, browsing as he goes. But it’s brushy; there’s not a clear shot.

I get him in my scope, determined not to look up and chance not reacquiring him. I watch for 15 minutes, hoping for a shot.

Then, momentarily, he comes into the clear, stopping in such a way that his head and neck are obscured behind a tree. But from the front shoulder back is clear. I take the shot.

I don’t see him run, but I’m not worried. I feel good about the shot. After 15 minutes of searching through scope and binoculars, I’ve got to get down to check.

It’s downhill and slippery getting to the spot. I draw nearer. Oh, no, a buck jumps and runs. Is that my deer?

I look for over an hour, combing the bowl-like area. I follow the trajectory of the buck that jumped and ran. I find nothing—no track, no hair, no blood.

The landowner offers to search after dark, but in the morning I’m told the search has been negative. Already I hurt, but not nearly as bad as when I check at the end of the day. The buck has been found dead in a pond. Warm temperatures overnight spoil the deer. It’s lost, the only closure, the pathetic picture on the left. Later, a friend says it best, “Yeah, you wish you’d just missed it.”

An Even Greater Loss

That buck is lost, and as bad as it hurts, I can’t help but think of a greater loss. Jesus asked in Mark 8:36, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Did you ever ponder where you will spend eternity? To leave this world lost in sin’s condemnation is the ultimate loss!

Sin is the problem. It separates us from God, Who “is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works” (Psalm 145:17).

So many people have a casual view of sin. They give some passing acknowledgment to having done something wrong, often dismissing it thinking they are basically good.

Sin is far more serious. Romans 3:12 says, “There is none who does good, no, not one” and 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We cannot rescue ourselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Joy of Being Found

Enter Jesus. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). When the Prodigal Son finally sees that he’s sinned against heaven as well as his father, he says, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you’” (Luke 15:18). The father exclaims, “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24). “Likewise … there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Not until he realized he was lost was the son ready to seek forgiveness. How about you? Ever see yourself as lost? If you’ve come to see your need of the Savior, you can turn to Him in simple faith. Acknowledge your sinfulness; ask His forgiveness. 

"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

I still wince over the loss of that buck. But to be lost forever is something you can never get over. The sorrow of that loss is eternal (Luke 13:28). Please, come to Christ today.

Copyright © 2019 Thomas Coleman  MagnifyThyWord.com

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