Today we will be reading from Luke 15:1-10:
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 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 Parable of the Lost Coin 8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in
Luke 15 is a chapter of lost things. We see a lost sheep today. We see a lost coin. Later we’ll see two lost sons. The tone for all of this is set in verses 1-2. The sinners and tax collectors came to Jesus, while the religious leaders grumbled against Him. There was something about Jesus that was attractive.
There was something about Jesus that made folks who were not religious, that made folks who didn’t know Him, who didn’t follow God, who were thought of as sinners; there was something about Jesus that made them want to draw near to Him. There was something about Jesus that attracted folks to Him.
I always think that’s a great challenge to us as Christians. Is the same true for us? Is there something about us that makes folks who don’t know Jesus, who don’t follow Jesus, who aren’t Christian, is there something about us that makes want to connect with us, to be around us?
Are we attractive to lost folk in the same way that Jesus was attractive to lost folk?
Well, how do we do that? We allow Jesus to shine through. We allow His hope, His grace, His love, His mercy, we allow these things to shine through. We do what we see in this passage.
What did the shepherd do when he realized there was a lost sheep? He went and looked for it.
What did the woman do when she realized she’d lost a coin? She looked for us.
Jesus loves lost things. He loves lost people. He even loves us. And what does He do for lost things? He looks for them.
May we do the same. And when we find them, may we love them.
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