Luke 15:1-10
Friday, 13 November 2020
“…I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” -Luke 15:10
How do you respond when you finally find something of value that was previously lost? It is only natural for us to be joyful when we find the lost item. In Luke Chapter 15, Jesus tells three parables in response to the accusations of the Pharisees that He associated with sinners. These parables share a common theme—of finding the lost and rejoicing over it.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7), the ‘lost’ sheep was each one of us before Jesus found us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We were all lost in sin and the ways of the world, until our Saviour – Jesus Christ came to find each one of us, and when He did, He rejoiced over our repentance and restored us. There are yet many lost sheep in the world that we need to seek and find in love. 2 Corinthians 5:19 [NLV] says: “God was in Christ. He was working through Christ to bring the whole world back to Himself. God no longer held men’s sins against them. And He gave us the work of telling and showing men this.”
In the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10), the woman who lost one of her ten silver coins diligently searches her house for it, until she finds it. Imagine something dear/valuable went missing— would you not search everywhere till you found them? Wouldn’t you be deeply sad within until is traced? How much greater is the Father’s love when He seeks out the lost ones! God in His infinite love for us – His creation, sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). On our own, we would never have found God or received salvation, but when God intervenes to open our spiritual eyes of understanding and draw us to His Son (John 6:44) we are indeed found!
In both the parables, when the lost sheep and the lost coin are found, they call their friends and neighbors and rejoice greatly. In the same way, when the ‘lost’ are found and added to the flock, there is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) There is great joy in a sinner repenting and turning to the Lord.
As Jesus addressed the Pharisees accusations through these parables, we know that Jesus came to seek and save the sinners and the lost ones. What is our attitude towards the lost? As imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), maturing into Christ-like character (Ephesians 4:13) we should walk in the same manner with a ‘love for the lost.’ We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) who need to guide and lead others to Christ. When people around us are perishing in sin and wickedness, our hearts should cry out for them with a burden and we ought to pray, labor diligently sending forth/proclaiming the Good News, that all may know the Lord Jesus Christ, repent, be saved and brought to His fold.
Prayer: Abba Father, I thank You for Your love for me. I ask that You would open new opportunities for me to minister to others and empower me to prayer unceasingly to see hearts turning to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen
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