The Lost Within
Would you go out to search for something you lost?
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "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? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 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. "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? 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.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." - Luke 15:1-10
By asking who wouldn't do this, Jesus is pointing out something unique about God, which is the main reason Jesus came among us.
God would and does do what we might not do.
He seeks out the lost and rejoices when He finds them and returns them back home.
This is great news for those of us who feel lost or know we are lost, but not so great for those of us who believe we have it all together.
We're good, we say, but are we? Really?
Perhaps we think we are ok, but we feel there is something missing. Something inside us is lost or at least disconnected.
That could be the thing we need to go out and search for.
That could be our lost sheep or lost coin, and when we find it, we will feel whole once again.
Maybe that is what this is all about.
More to come...