The Lost Camera

Finding a parable in a photographer’s determined search

After graduating high school, I used my savings to buy a Minolta X-370. I cherished that camera, so years later when I unknowingly dropped an expensive lens at the trunk of my car and backed over it, the tire crushed my spirit right along with the lens.

That painful memory came to mind as I read the recent news of an amateur photographer whose new, $3,700 camera ended up at a Goodwill store by mistake and sold for $70. The good news is she got it back; the way she did it shows just how much the camera meant to her. She shared her story on a local Facebook page, rallied the creative community on TikTok, and talked to a local television station. The buyers eventually heard the story and returned the camera.

The photographer loved her camera so much that she refused to believe it was lost forever. She went to great lengths to find it — just like Jesus did for lost souls.

Photo by Henry Söderlund, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

Jesus illustrated the depth of his love for mankind in three parables that shared a theme about something of great value being lost. He told all three parables in response to the scribes and Pharisees who chastised him for interacting and eating with sinners (Luke 15:1-2).