Luke 15:7
All of us know what it is like to lose something valuable to us and then experience the joy of finding it after a period of time. When I was a senior in high school, I somehow lost my class ring at the church that I was attending at the time. Two weeks later, I got a call from a man who lived about ten miles out of town. He was out working in his yard and happened to find my ring. My name was engraved in it, and he somehow was able to track my name and number and return it to me. It’s very easy for valuable things to become lost.
In contrast to the pain of losing something, there is a joy that a person experiences when he or she recovers that which was lost. The theme of Luke 15 is God’s joy in seeking and saving lost people. Jesus says that the salvation of lost men and women brings great joy to the heart of God. The salvation of the lost is the joy of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that He came for the purpose of seeking and saving that which was lost. He talks about the joy and the celebration that breaks out in heaven when it comes to recovering that which was lost. In doing so, He gives three parables, each of which illustrate the truth that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
One of the reasons of why there exists an apathy in the church today toward salvation and the things of God is because people who are found have forgotten what it is like to be people who were lost. Somewhere along the way, we cooled off in our devotion to Christ. If we are not careful, we can become detached and removed from the lives of those that Jesus came to save. We can replace seeking and saving the lost with sitting and soaking in a pew!
Nothing will bring more joy to your soul as a Christian then living out the mission and purpose for which you have been saved. And nothing will bring more joy and revival to a church than when it gets serious about seeking and finding the lost.
For more, read Luke 15:1-32
