Daily Bread 2011 - Luke 15
Daily Bread 2011 – Thursday, March 24th, 2011 Luke 15
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Does This Mean?
All three of these parables in Luke 15 deal with something that is lost including: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. They all were valuable and merited an all out search to find that which was lost.
Jesus offers these parables in the midst of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, looking down their noses at him and saying, “how dare he associate with sinners the likes of these!” In each of the cases, not only does the owner believe his lost possession/person is valuable but stops everything to find it!
And in every case there is much rejoicing when the lost object is found! The joy of the find is worthy of celebration in the most extravagant of ways known to that culture! In fact, there is so much rejoicing that one who was already found (in the case of the older brother) was a little offended. So, the Father assures the older son of his affection, but reminds him of the importance of lost things being found.
What Does This Mean For Us?
These parables represent God’s deep love for lost people. If a shepherd is so concerned about the loss of one sheep out of a hundred, how much more is the shepherd of our souls concerned about us? The church exists not only as a place to feed the 99 sheep so they stay healthy and nourished (spiritually speaking), but also to find the one that is lost!
As the Father scans the horizon looking for the Son, are we scanning our locality to look for the lost son or daughter? Lost people meant so much to Jesus that he bled and died for them. Do they matter to us? And if they do how do we structure our programs, ministries and finances to reach out to the lost. Sometimes we say, “Oh we will get to evangelism later, after all our needs are taken care of!” According to these passages there is nothing more important than we can be doing right now, than looking and finding lost people!
Jesus thank you for finding us when we were lost and sending Good Shepherds to bring us back into the fold. Thank you that like the Father you scanned the horizon until we came home. May our hearts be like that of the Good Shepherd and the Father so that lost people will be found and brought into Your kingdom! Amen.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Does This Mean?
All three of these parables in Luke 15 deal with something that is lost including: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. They all were valuable and merited an all out search to find that which was lost.
Jesus offers these parables in the midst of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, looking down their noses at him and saying, “how dare he associate with sinners the likes of these!” In each of the cases, not only does the owner believe his lost possession/person is valuable but stops everything to find it!
And in every case there is much rejoicing when the lost object is found! The joy of the find is worthy of celebration in the most extravagant of ways known to that culture! In fact, there is so much rejoicing that one who was already found (in the case of the older brother) was a little offended. So, the Father assures the older son of his affection, but reminds him of the importance of lost things being found.
What Does This Mean For Us?
These parables represent God’s deep love for lost people. If a shepherd is so concerned about the loss of one sheep out of a hundred, how much more is the shepherd of our souls concerned about us? The church exists not only as a place to feed the 99 sheep so they stay healthy and nourished (spiritually speaking), but also to find the one that is lost!
As the Father scans the horizon looking for the Son, are we scanning our locality to look for the lost son or daughter? Lost people meant so much to Jesus that he bled and died for them. Do they matter to us? And if they do how do we structure our programs, ministries and finances to reach out to the lost. Sometimes we say, “Oh we will get to evangelism later, after all our needs are taken care of!” According to these passages there is nothing more important than we can be doing right now, than looking and finding lost people!
Jesus thank you for finding us when we were lost and sending Good Shepherds to bring us back into the fold. Thank you that like the Father you scanned the horizon until we came home. May our hearts be like that of the Good Shepherd and the Father so that lost people will be found and brought into Your kingdom! Amen.
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