12/15/2025
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
"Missing Children"
I remember the headlines from years ago — photos flashing across our TV screens, another child missing. Press conferences, interviews, the FBI and local police searching every lead. For a stretch of time, it felt like those stories were everywhere. The nation was holding its breath, wondering if the next breaking alert would be another child lost. Even now, those old headlines still stir something in me — that deep ache every parent knows.
That fear isn’t new. Long before modern alerts and breaking-news banners, Scripture tells the story of parents who lost track of their child — not for minutes, but for days.
“When his parents saw him, they were astonished.
His mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this?
Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.’
‘Why were you searching for me?’ he asked.
‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’
But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” — Luke 2:48–50
Every parent knows the panic of losing sight of a child. Mary and Joseph lived that panic as they traveled home from the Passover festival. They assumed Jesus was with relatives in the crowded caravan — until they discovered He wasn’t. It took three long days to find Him again, sitting calmly in the temple, talking with the teachers.
They didn’t lose Him through neglect — just assumption.
They thought He was near because life felt familiar and full.
That same pattern shows up in our own spiritual lives. I can go days assuming Jesus is close, only to realize I’ve been running entirely on my own strength. He didn’t move — I did. Distraction, hurry, fear, pride — they pull me from His presence faster than I’d ever expect.
But the good news is this: Jesus is never far.
He is found where He has always been — doing His Father’s work, waiting for us to seek Him with intention.
Reflection
Where have you lost sight of Jesus in your daily life?
What would it look like to pause, retrace your steps, and find Him again this week?
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for assuming Your presence while I drift away.
Help me slow down and return to where You are.
Restore our closeness, and make Your presence my priority again.
Memory Verse: Proverbs 1:5 — “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”
