Guo Gangtang spent 24 years looking for his son, who was kidnapped at the age of two by human traffickers in China. Guo thought of nothing else as he traveled 310,000 miles by motorcycle across 20 provinces on ten different motorcycles, showing pictures of his little son wherever he went.
He broke bones in accidents and was robbed by thieves. He spent his savings on the search, sleeping under bridges and begging when the money ran out. In the end, police found the now 26-year-old by searching databases for images of the child, digitally enhanced to show his adult appearance.
The emotional reunion in early 2021 was broadcast across China. “Now that my boy has been found, everything can be happy from now on,” Guo said.
This father’s relentless pursuit of his son reflects God’s indescribable, compassionate love for you. He will go to the ends of the earth to find you, even if you think you don’t need to be found. He has found some of us in the midst of achievement, desperation, relationship loss, debilitating illness, the death of a loved one, addiction, or prison.
Scripture and story alike remind us of that same determined love. In the movie The Last of the Mohicans, Nathaniel, raised by Mohicans, is in love with Cora, the daughter of a proud British colonel. In one of the final scenes, Nathaniel and others are trapped behind a waterfall as a rival tribe closes in.
Just before he jumps into the massive waterfall to escape, Nathaniel passionately tells Cora, “No matter where, no matter how long. No matter how far, I will find you.” In the climax of the film, he relentlessly pursues and rescues her.
Regardless of how, when, or where He found you, He did. For many of us, we were not seeking Him when He found us. He sought us out because of His great love for us.
Those of us who have been found rejoice that we are His forever, and nothing can change that. He will never let us go. No one will ever be able to snatch us out of His hand.
Have you been found?