Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost!

The title of this post was borrowed from a poem by my favorite author, J.R.R. Tolkien. The poem is about how appearances can sometimes be deceptive. It underscores how we frequently fail to properly evaluate the worth of other people - that our perception of our neighbor is often flawed.

We see someone who questions old standards and norms as straying from THE truth. We see those who have stopped attending our church or believing the way that we believe as fallen. However, as the title of this post indicates, that is not always the case.

Maybe that's why Jesus Christ said that his followers shouldn't be judging each other? After all, don't those restless seekers sometimes stumble upon great discoveries that end up enriching the lives of all of us? Doesn't God sometimes "exalt him that is low and abase him that is high?" What did Jesus mean when he said that "many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first?"