Articles
Lost and Found
Lost and Found
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4).
It is 9:30 on a Monday night as I sit down to write this article. I am so excited about what just happened, so I had to get it in writing immediately. After I had given up on ever finding my sunglasses, my wife found them wedged between the seats in the back of our Mazda. There was a literal jump for joy when she showed them to me because I was so excited. I felt like I was in a bonus parable in the set of the lost and found parables in Luke 15. I believe I understand what Jesus meant in those parables, but I gained new insight when I felt like I was the shepherd finding his hundredth sheep, the woman finding her tenth coin, or the father being reunited with his second son. The point of parables is to tell stories that reveal a spiritual truth in a relatable way. The joy of finding my sunglasses helped me relate to the truths of Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 in a new way.
There is more rejoicing over finding than keeping
“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).
Maybe this has always been obvious to you, but it used to confuse me. Ninety-nine just people who need no repentance seem worth celebrating, but Jesus is showing that our Father loves to seek and find. Knowing that my sunglasses were not in my possession for the last month really irritated me. I had other sunglasses to wear, so that was not the issue. I was frustrated knowing something that was mine was no longer in my possession. Why does God rejoice more over one person who repents? Because we all belong to God, yet not everyone has given their life to be in God’s hands. If the small things we find bring us joy, imagine the rejoicing in heaven when someone chooses to repent and give their life back to God.
Keep looking even when you are discouraged
“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’” (Luke 15:9).
In all three of the lost and found parables of Luke 15, when the thing is found the person rejoices with other people. Feel free to rejoice with me when you see me with my sunglasses, but there is much greater rejoicing for us to take part in together. After the excitement of finding my sunglasses wore off, I took a second look at myself. Why did I ever give up on looking for these sunglasses? The joy that I felt when I found them made me want to look for other things that I had lost. As I finish this article at the end of the week, I am happy to say that my wife also found my car keys I had lost. In the same week I jumped for joy twice because I was so excited about what I had found. Sometimes we quit looking because looking and not finding is so discouraging. We stop looking and use the spare key because we do not want to feel discouraged anymore. Similarly, we focus solely on saved people instead of continuing to look for lost people. Even if you were the only lost person on earth, God would not stop looking for you. Keep looking for lost people even when you feel discouraged. It is what God would do for you.
--William Speer
