'Not All Who Wander Are Lost'

Not all who wander are lost” is a popular nationwide bumper sticker. The quote is attributed to J.R.R. Tolkien, but anyone who has read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy will know that it came, not from the pen of Tolkien, but rather from a Hobbit tune, and expressed the joyful, carefree nature of hobbits to wander the countryside innocently and without constraint.

This bumper sticker is seemingly used as a stick in the eye to evangelical Christians who describe those who are not “saved” as “lost.” Now, I am of course an evangelical Christian, so take moderate offense to its use, not because I care that much about the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien, but because it was meant to be a stick in my eye, but perhaps was more a small twig or even speck. Even so, it has made me think over the years since I first saw it.

There is a truth described in the quote as it is used in relation to spirituality. Not all who wander are lost. Some know exactly where they are—or rather—where they are not.

In Luke 15, Jesus gives three parables which describe three different aspects of being lost. Each of the descriptions has a different nuance and insight into those who are “lost” (Jesus’ own word).

The first parable concerns a sheep that has left the rest of the sheep and the shepherd who has watch over him. The description here is one, not of active rebellion, but rather of—for lack of a better word—the stupidity of the sheep that has left the fold. The sheep in some sense did not know better, or was enticed by a distraction—perhaps that "greener grass on the other side" or that mirage masking as a lush oasis just a short distance away.

The second description is that of a coin that has been lost. In today’s currency, our coins do not have much value compared with the woman here described. Perhaps it is like the loss of a bi-weekly paycheck, or the rent money, or the monthly mortgage. But regardless, while the sheep described above had some hand in its departure from the fold, this coin was lost as a result of some other person or circumstance.

Finally, Jesus tells the parable which has become so dear to so many of us, and that is the description of the “Prodigal Son.” In this story, we find one who is lost, or wandering—purposeful and defiant. Rather than stay within his father’s house, he requests his inheritance before his father's death. He lives an excessive life and blows all of his inheritance. It seems to me, that this son could have said in the midst of his excursion: “Not all who wander are lost!”

I do not know where you are as a reader. Perhaps you are like the sheep that, though you do not know quite how, has found itself alone, outside of the fold of God and outside of the earshot of the Great Shepherd.

Perhaps you are like that lost coin and you never considered whether you were lost or whether you were found and it never really concerned you.

Or perhaps you are like that son who has left the Father’s estate, deliberately and rebelliously.

While the hobbit’s ballad, “Not all who wander are lost,” is quite charming in the book, even in the classic trilogy there is a sense that the naivety of the hobbits is leading them into trouble. There is a great enemy in the midst of Middle-earth which wants to destroy the joy and life of the hobbits and they are completely oblivious.

Just as there is an enemy in Middle-earth, there also exists a very real enemy here on our earth. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that this enemy, the devil, “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” So be warned: wandering has its dangers! Indeed, wandering from God is the most dangerous place in the universe to be.

But even in these parables, we can find great hope. If you are that wandering sheep, you have a Shepherd who is seeking you out to bring you back into the fold. Isaiah 53:6 tells us that “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to our own wicked way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

And if you are the lost coin, again, you have One who finds great value in you and is turning the house inside out to find you. Will you be found?

And for the one who knows you are “lost.” There is One who is waiting for you with open arms, ready to receive you back into the household, and ready even to let you back into His inheritance, even though you blew it all the first time.

If you have lost your way as the sheep, or never knew you were lost—like the coin, or in open rebellion like the son, you have no choice but to make a decision: will you return now to Him who is looking for you? No matter where you are, or how far you have gone, all you must do is turn to Him and you will be found. Then you can sing with the rest of the found: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found! Was blind but now I see!”