We watched as the little Lego man circled the sink drain. He plummeted to his demise just as I reached out my hand to grab him. Eli’s lip curled as his silent face scrunched together and turned red. He then belted out, “No! My man! My man go down the sink!” I glanced over at Knox who was also brushing his teeth. He too witnessed the tragedy of Eli dropping him into the sink. A splendid balance of sadness and shock came over his face. “Can you get him, Dad?” he asked with a worried tone.

I quickly fashioned some tongs out of a clothes hanger and went to work. Over and over again I attempted to squeeze the little guy and pull him out. However, he would fall back down each time we got close to the top. Not only was my method ineffective, it sent us all on a roller coaster of emotion. Their eyes would begin to light up as he approached the top of the drain only to be followed by re-formed tears when they heard him fall back down. I needed some help. If we couldn’t pull him out through the top, we had to let him fall out of the bottom. “Knox, go ask mom for a big bowl and a towel. We are going to remove the p-trap under the sink and get this man out,” I said. Knox had just received orders from headquarters and asked me to repeat the request back slowly. I will NEVER forget how serious he looked at me as he took off to get the supplies.

I laughed as I overheard Knox’s request in the kitchen. “Mom, there’s going to be a lot of water and a big mess. Eli lost his man and daddy is fixing the sink.” Learning about the whole incident this way probably came as a shock to her as well.

Knox got back with our tools and we removed the p-trap under the sink. Eli’s man and murky water fell into the bowl below and jubilation began. “Hooray! Hooray!” Knox yelled. I washed the little man off and handed him over to his owner. Eli’s pudgy arms eclipsed the little Lego man as he hugged him as tight as he could. The search and rescue mission was complete. 

The whole adventure was a perfect picture of Jesus’s Parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18 and Luke 15. In Matthew 18:12-13 we read, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” And again in Luke 15:4-7 in the context of an unbeliever, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” 

The boys have hundreds of toys but all that mattered that night was the one that got lost down the drain. All their focus and attention shifted to saving that little Lego man. His successful rescue brought them more joy than all of their other toys ever have. It was truly wonderful to watch the parable play out in our bathroom that night. 

When you love someone that much, you’ll drop everything to save them. God doesn’t want any of us to perish. (Matthew 18:14, 1 Peter 2:3) This instinct is divinely wired into us by our creator and no one searches and rescues quite like our God can. 

Just fishing with my daddy, 

Ryan