Most people are frustrated by loss.  To clarify, what I mean is that most of us really dislike losing something of value.

For example, if you are like me, you have often tucked something that you knew was important into a “safe place,” only to discover that it was such a safe place you couldn’t find it again when you needed it!  Frustrating, right?

Recently a number of people from our congregation attended a Tacoma Rainiers game (the Seattle Mariners Triple-A baseball team) at lovely Cheney Stadium.  We do this every summer on a Friday fireworks evening, and have a lovely time.  We grill up some food at a tailgate gathering, eat and chat, watch the game and enjoy the fireworks display afterwards.

I was “The Griller” this year.  (Brats, cheddar-filled smoked sausages, and hotdogs, generally grilled to perfection!  Or at least I thought so.)  Realizing I would need to slice open packages of meat, I slipped my favorite jackknife into my pocket beforehand. 

Later that evening, my knife was no longer there.  Either I missed my pocket after using it, or I dropped it when we were instructed to hold the metal objects from our pockets above our heads while going through security.  Either way, my (former) pocket-knife is now either lying somewhere on the Cheney Stadium parking lot or is resting on someone else’s dresser after they found it there.

Losing a nice little knife would always be somewhat upsetting.  But this one was special to me.  I found it while metal-detecting.  Finding pocketknives with a detector is actually quite common, but finding one this nice is rare.  Usually they show the effects of being buried in the ground – frequently so rusted they can’t even be opened.  But this knife was almost brand new – handsome in appearance, easily opened and sharp.  I really liked that knife, and I used it often.

Frustrating!

Yet, as I reflect on the situation, I have to acknowledge that someone else was frustrated before me when he originally lost that blade.  (In fact, as a metal detectorist, the reality is that I specialize in locating items that other frustrated people have lost.)  Now that lovely little knife that was lost once was lost (and perhaps found?) a second time.

Upon even more reflection, this loss is a minor one.  Actually, a very minor one.  There are much more impactful losses that people endure in life; losses of valuable, precious, unique things that sometimes can’t be replaced.

Losing one’s job, their life’s savings, their house, or a family heirloom would qualify.  As would the loss of reputation, a relationship, or a dear pet.  Even more significant examples might be the loss of a loved one, or the loss of one’s health or life.

When these kinds of losses occur, the emotion experienced isn’t frustration; it’s devastation!

Yet as devastating as these losses would be, there is another loss even more devastating.  And sadly it’s a loss that is rarely considered by many … including even Christians.

What is this frequently disregarded yet most devastating loss of all?  It’s the loss of one’s soul.  More specifically, it’s the loss of faith in the Savior in one’s soul. 

Why is this so devastating?  Because when one loses faith in Jesus, they lose God’s forgiveness and they lose salvation.  There are no other losses that can come close to comparing!

The Apostle Paul understood this.  He certainly understood that this is a world of losses.  Living in this world means living with losses.  But it’s a matter of perspective.  What is truly valuable?  What is really precious?  The treasures of the world are actually trash, spiritually speaking, and those things most people regard as worthless (God’s Word, Jesus, souls and faith) are actually priceless. 

Paul summarizes this truth with these words: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).

Paul himself lost essentially everything, including his very life, due to his devotion to Jesus.  Yet he considered himself the richest of men.  And indeed he was!  As are we who also own the treasure of faith in Jesus our Savior!

I lost a knife I found.  I hope someone else finds the knife I lost, and that it serves them as well as it served me.  But thanks be to God that I haven’t lost my faith, my soul, my Savior or my salvation, because those would truly be losses worth grieving.