Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 15
Daily Bread 2010 – Luke 15
Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
In the church I grew up in, spiritually speaking, there was a saying that permeated the DNA of that place, “Lost people matter to God”. And that core value was reflected in everything that happened at that church even to the point of the Sunday services being geared more to the “seeker” than the “believer”. From the Senior Pastor, who modeled personally sharing the Good News with the lost, to all of the programs that helped the members to learn how to share their faith story, the church was formed to find that which was lost. There were times in that church that members grumbled because sometimes it seemed that the church was more focused on the lost than the found. But as the leaders kept the church going “due north”, those who were on board with this vision stayed and others who wanted a more comfortable, consumer driven experience left.
In Luke’s gospel, in chapter 15, we see 3 stories about lost things being of profound importance to the person, so much so that they would stop what they are doing to find it. In the first story, the shepherd left the 99 who were found, to find the one that was lost. I wonder how the 99 felt?
In the second story, a woman who loses one coin, makes a full-scale, all-out search until the one coin is found. Then, she invites a friend to rejoice over the lost coin being found. And finally, we see the story of the Prodigal Son, who took an early inheritance and squandered becoming lost in the process. When he came to his senses he returned home, and his father, instead of punishing him, rejoices that his lost son is found. It is also noted that the found son wasn’t too happy about all this celebration, but the Father reminds him that he is found and how he has always loved him.
Luke 15 challenges all of us in the church to remember it is not about us. If we are found, one of our principal missions on earth is to share what we have found with those who are lost. In the Church we must be careful not to focus all of our energy and capital on keeping the found happy, but employing all we have to make an all out search for those who are lost.
This may mean making changes in our services or ministries to be more geared to needs of the lost, rather than the found. As lost people become found because of our energy, time, and prayers; we can throw big parties to celebrate that a prodigal son/daughter has come home. I hope this can be the norm for our Church rather than the exception. I guess it starts with me caring about lost people who matter to God. How about you?
Prayer: God break our hearts for lost people who matter to you and therefore should matter to us. Show us those in our community who need you and help us to connect them to you in meaningful ways. Break our pride and self-centered and open the eyes of our hearts to see what you see, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
In the church I grew up in, spiritually speaking, there was a saying that permeated the DNA of that place, “Lost people matter to God”. And that core value was reflected in everything that happened at that church even to the point of the Sunday services being geared more to the “seeker” than the “believer”. From the Senior Pastor, who modeled personally sharing the Good News with the lost, to all of the programs that helped the members to learn how to share their faith story, the church was formed to find that which was lost. There were times in that church that members grumbled because sometimes it seemed that the church was more focused on the lost than the found. But as the leaders kept the church going “due north”, those who were on board with this vision stayed and others who wanted a more comfortable, consumer driven experience left.
In Luke’s gospel, in chapter 15, we see 3 stories about lost things being of profound importance to the person, so much so that they would stop what they are doing to find it. In the first story, the shepherd left the 99 who were found, to find the one that was lost. I wonder how the 99 felt?
In the second story, a woman who loses one coin, makes a full-scale, all-out search until the one coin is found. Then, she invites a friend to rejoice over the lost coin being found. And finally, we see the story of the Prodigal Son, who took an early inheritance and squandered becoming lost in the process. When he came to his senses he returned home, and his father, instead of punishing him, rejoices that his lost son is found. It is also noted that the found son wasn’t too happy about all this celebration, but the Father reminds him that he is found and how he has always loved him.
Luke 15 challenges all of us in the church to remember it is not about us. If we are found, one of our principal missions on earth is to share what we have found with those who are lost. In the Church we must be careful not to focus all of our energy and capital on keeping the found happy, but employing all we have to make an all out search for those who are lost.
This may mean making changes in our services or ministries to be more geared to needs of the lost, rather than the found. As lost people become found because of our energy, time, and prayers; we can throw big parties to celebrate that a prodigal son/daughter has come home. I hope this can be the norm for our Church rather than the exception. I guess it starts with me caring about lost people who matter to God. How about you?
Prayer: God break our hearts for lost people who matter to you and therefore should matter to us. Show us those in our community who need you and help us to connect them to you in meaningful ways. Break our pride and self-centered and open the eyes of our hearts to see what you see, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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