The parable of the lost bike...

There was a man who owned a bicycle. He rode it nearly every day. He kept it clean and cared for it, because it was special to him.

One day he was out for a ride and the bicycle's rear tire flatted. It was an awful flat. No air remained in the tube. The man lovingly removed the offending wheel and prepared to fix the tire in the wilderness.

Just then a kind Samaritan came by and offered the man and his bike a ride to town in her Subaru. The man was grateful for the kind gesture and accepted quickly, but when he went to place his bike in the back of the car, alas, it would not fit. He turned it this way and that, but the frame was just too big for the tiny car's cabin.

The Samaritan suggested hiding the bike in the ditch until the man could return with a larger vehicle. The man thought about her idea and with some fear and trembling, agreed. He hid the bike in the tall grass in much the same way that Miriam had hidden baby Moses among the bullrushes. Then the man left, promising to return.

The trip to town with the Samaritan woman was a quick one. The return to the site of the flat even quicker. The man was anxious to have his bike back in his garage, anxious to fix her flat and get out riding again. The man pulled to the side of the road and sprung from his van. He ran to the ditch and began his search for the bike.

He did not see it. He walked up and down the ditch. It was not anywhere he looked. the man was frantic. He looked again, then returned to his car and drove the rest of the way up the hill he'd been climbing when he flatted. He scanned the ditch and the field as he rolled slowly along. not once did he catch a glimpse of the bike.

He returned to his home, angry and frustrated, tears streaming down his face. His bicycle had been stolen. He was sure of it. He called the sheriff's office. He called his friends.

"Help me find my bike," he pleaded. "I think it has been stolen."

On Facebook and DailyMile the word went out. Local friends and those far away suggested nasty ends to the man or woman who would take such a precious possession from a man who just wanted to ride.

The man responded to many of the comments, but wasn't satisfied sitting still waiting for the long arm of the law to catch the thief. He had to do something. So he jumped in his van and returned to the hill where he'd left his bike.

When he arrived the Samaritan's Subaru was driving slowly up the same hill. As he stepped from his van into the ditch once more, her car circled around and headed back toward him. He was just a few yards away from his car when she stopped on the road beside him.

"I've found your bike!" she shouted. "It's further up the road!"

The man was beside himself with joy. He ran back to his vehicle and slammed it into gear. He followed the slow moving Subaru closer and closer to the summit of the climb and then he saw the most beautiful sight - shiny metal in the grass. He braked quickly and dashed up the steep ditch to the bike that was lost, but now was found. He lifted it up and brushed off the weeds that clung to it. Then he joyfully carried it back to his car and drove it back to his home. There he called all his friends and updated his status on Facebook and wrote a note on DailyMile.

"Celebrate with me," he said. "My 'stolen' bike has been found!'"

I tell you. As much rejoicing as there was over the lost bike that was found, there is more rejoicing among the angels in heaven over one lost sinner who repents.

Have a great Sunday worshiping the one who searched for us and found us when we were lost! The man and his bike are going to rest.