God Speaks
Dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus’ sermons; 2 but this caused complaints from the Jewish religious leaders and the experts on Jewish law because he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them!
3-4 So Jesus used this illustration: “If you had a hundred sheep and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? 5 And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. 6 When you arrived you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.
7 “Well, in the same way heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who haven’t strayed away!
8 “Or take another illustration: A woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it? 9 And then won’t she call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her? 10 In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents.”
11 To further illustrate the point, he told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 When the younger told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die!’ his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there wasted all his money on parties and prostitutes. 14 About the time his money was gone a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. 16 The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the swine looked good to him. And no one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough and to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming, and was filled with loving pity and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you, and am not worthy of being called your son—’
22 “But his father said to the slaves, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. And a jeweled ring for his finger; and shoes! 23 And kill the calf we have in the fattening pen. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has returned to life. He was lost and is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working; when he returned home, he heard dance music coming from the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on.
27 “‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast to celebrate his coming home again unharmed.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to; and in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after spending your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have on the place.’
31 “‘Look, dear son,’ his father said to him, ‘you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours. 32 But it is right to celebrate. For he is your brother; and he was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’”
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Luke 15 has been called the “Lost and Found” chapter of the Bible. It contains three parables of lostness: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Lost (Prodigal) Son. A sheep is lost when it gets distracted and wanders away from the shepherd. A coin is lost when someone is careless or not paying attention, through no fault of the coin. A son can be lost through willfulness on his part. With diligence, patience, and trust in the Lord, however, the lost things can be found. This brings great joy to those who love and care for the lost ones.
Prayer: Dear All-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God, nothing is ever out of Your sight or knowledge. Keep Your people from getting distracted by all the interesting things around us. Curiosity can be deadly. Please draw people back to Yourself or go out and rescue them as the shepherd did in this parable. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost; may we, who have been found, do so as well. Please help parents, teachers, and leaders in society to be careful with the lives of children and adults under their care or direction. Help us to stay connected with them. Adult children are a particular concern as they make decisions of their own free will and may or may not seek wise counsel. It is for good reason that You command us to honor our parents. You knew that doing so would save us much grief and also bring us long life in the land You provided. Please bring the wandering, misplaced, and/or rebellious lost ones home, O Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will spend less time with people who are “safe in the fold” and more time searching out people who have wandered away from God.
- I will spend time diligently searching for someone who is precious to me who has previously not been exposed to the truths of God.
- I will join friends who have been praying for a long time for prodigals in their lives.
- I will celebrate and praise God whenever lost ones are found.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.