The sheep is lost, knows it is lost, but doesn't know what to do about it. The coin is lost, doesn't know its lost, and therefore cannot do anything about it. The son is lost, knows he is lost and knows what he needs to do about it. Did Jesus intentionally create these differences to teach a secondary lesson through these parables? I can only conjecture, but these coupled with another difference found in the seekers' actions cause me to consider that He did. Notice, in the first two stories the seekers search diligently for that which is lost, but in the last story the father waits and watches for the son to return, but does not seek after him.
I may be making more of this than I should. Nevertheless, there is a correlation that appears here between the conditions of the lost objects in the stories and the lost people in our world today. There are people who know they are lost, but have no idea what to do about it. They may not use the word "lost", but their conversation and actions speak loudly - "Help, I'm lost!"
There are people who are lost, but are clueless about it. They believe everything is fine. They live good lives. They are moral people. They are kind to others. They are religious, in their own way. They even recycle and do good things in the community. Lost? Not them.
There are those who are lost knowing the truth. They have heard the gospel. They have been the taught the truth. They were once active in the church, yet they have walked away. They have left the Father's House to live life their way. Definitely lost, but with the knowledge about the Father and how to return to Him.
There are some lessons to be learned here and I invite you to ponder them with me in the next few devotionals. For now, remember and rejoice in the glorious reality that God is a seeking Savior and it is His will that none, not one single one, perish!
Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry
(Luke 15 - Parables of the Lost Sheep, Coin and Son)
Recognizing the correlation of the lost objects in the three parables of Luke 15 and the people in our world today helps us realize that we cannot approach each group in the same manner. As each searcher approached the task differently, so we must address each group differently.
To the lost who know it, but don't know what to do about it we need to point them to the Savior. Jesus told His disciples, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." Within context Jesus was speaking about Gentiles, but He is also speaking about the people we are addressing here. He has prepared their hearts. We have no need to accentuate their lost condition. We don't need to point out their sin. The Holy Spirit has revealed it to them. They are keenly aware of it. We may need to help them identify their condition and separation from God, but they are a searching group who are wanting to hear the message. They are ready to hear the shepherd's voice and to be brought into the flock. Our major task is to compassionately and forthrightly point them to Jesus.
Those who don't realize their lost condition are one of the hardest groups to confront and are the largest group in our society today. They are probably the largest group in the western world. With the all accepting, create your own values mentality of today, people are easily duped into believing that everything is fine when in reality they are hopelessly lost.
It is not our place to convict. The Holy Spirit is faithful and that is His job. Nonetheless, we must speak the truth in love letting these people know about sin. We must consistently and faithfully make the truth known. We must not adopt the world's pluralistic thinking or terminology. We must state biblical truth with clarity and preciseness. There is only one way - Jesus. We are not all seeking the same God in different ways. There is only one God. He has revealed Himself in Christ Jesus and His Word. He can only be known by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Sin is sin. We all are sinners, and God alone can save. We cannot back-down or water-down the glorious truth of The Gospel. They will accuse of us being bigots, inflexible, uncaring, unloving, unaccepting, intolerant, among other things. God has warned us about these false accusations. Jesus Himself was falsely accused. Nevertheless, we must unyieldingly stand upon God's Word while we uncompromisingly, lovingly, and passionately proclaim it.
Just as the shepherd and the women sought what was lost, so we are to seek the lost. Rarely will either of these groups come to us. They will remain lost unless someone seeks them out. So seek we must. Just as God in Christ sought us, so we in Christ seek others. We must because God commands us to! We must because love constrains us to! We must because their lives depend upon it!
The last group identified in the parables of Luke 15 are those who are lost, know they are lost, and know what to do. This is a dwindling group today. There was a day when it was rare that a person did not have some type of church background or a basic knowledge of God. This is not as true anymore. There are millions who know Jesus as nothing more than a vulgarity. Nonetheless, there are still millions who know about the truth of the gospel and have walked away. As astonishing and baffling as this is, they refuse Jesus, while knowing in their hearts they should accept Him.
The church spends a great amount of effort and time in seeking these people. But notice that in the parable the Father watched and waited, but did not seek the son. Jesus did this same type of thing on several occasions as well. He confronted a person, or group of people with the truth. They turned and walked away from Jesus. He then turned to those who remained, asking if they too were going to leave. They chose to follow. Jesus then took them and went out seeking others. Could it be that our efforts to seek this group is misdirected? Could it be that our seeking efforts are to foremost directed toward the first two groups?
It seems uncompassionate to just let people walk away. It looks as if we do not care if we do not run after them. It appears as if we are giving up on them. In reality it is none of these. We do not give up, but with loving compassion we fervently pray, trusting the Holy Spirit to do his work in their lives. There is no where they can go to flee God's Spirit. We watch with anticipation for the day they return and when they appear we run to them embracing them with redeeming arms, welcoming them back into the fold. If God directs we us to seek someone in this group we do so. Otherwise the more appropriate action is for us to remain faithful in our walk while waiting and watching for them to return. When they come to their senses, they will return to the Father. That is our pray - that they soon come to their senses and come home!
When all is said and done with these parable, there always remains two specific things - 1. God is a seeking Saving God and 2. We are to seek the lost. Therefore, let us seek so they may be found.
Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry