Luke 15:1-24

These passages may be familiar, yet there is still relevance in looking into them. The Word of God can still speak profoundly to our lives at a deep level, no matter how familiar we are with the words.

Once again, we find that Jesus is hanging out with the "wrong crowd". Hence why the Pharisees are grumbling against Him. They thought that He should spend more time with them.

They wanted a movement that was exclusive - that kept out those who were lawbreakers and involved with the Romans. They believed that only then would the kingdom of God come. Jesus told them these parables to tell them just how wrong they were.

The lost sheep and coin ??

These two different stories have the same point. They are simple yet cut to the issue deeply.

Jesus' interpretation in verse seven is very significant here. In His eyes theost things are us. Humanity has turned away from God and that pains Him greatly. What we see is a God who is passionately committed to every stubborn person who has hurt Him, and ignored Him. God loves them so much that He does everything He can to find them again. And that lost person is you. He does so much to pull you back into His arms. You are worth stopping everything for to find.

When someone who is lost is found by God, who turns to Him and accepts His love - heaven rejoices! It is a glorious thought that all those on high celebrate even the smallest, unworthy sheep who comes back to their shepherd.

We can do the same! When someone we know comes to God, we can celebrate. We can reflect that bit of heaven on earth.

The lost son ?

Arguably the most famous of Jesus' parables, some parts of this might be lost on us in today's culture.

For the son to ask for his father's money was more than just a loan from "the bank of Dad". He was basically saying he wished his father was dead. The procedure would have involved him selling his family's hard-earned land for cash and going off far away.

As you may know, that didn't end well and he ended up in the lowest of places.

The son's return to his father is the key moment of this parable. Here we see the overwhelming love the father had for his son - the same son who wished he was dead and drank away the family's money and land.

Obviously the father in the story represents God, and we are the lost son. Look at how much God loves us that He will, despite all that we do to Him, accept us back with joy and celebration. We have all made a mess of life, yet we are welcomed as a beloved child.

One key part of all the parties is that the guests are told about the triumphant return. In the same way we should tell anyone we can about those who are saved, whether it is ourselves or someone we know.

The elder brother

This part is the sting in the tale. The elder brother's reaction is one of scorn and hatred towards his brother. He didn't understand the joy the same way his father did. That son was just as lost as his wayward brother. Again, he is only interested in what he can get from his father. Both sons have no care about their father, just like we often do not care about God himself. Often we only care about what we can get from God. How He can help our lives or make things feel good. This can lead to bitterness towards God when we don't get what we want. We should guard against this, and remember that all we need is to know God and be loved by Him.

We got somewhere in these stories. Where are you? Are you blatantly turning from God and in need of His grace? Or are we close but are using God for our own gain? In both cases we need to turn to God, confess and accept His loving grace. To know Him for who He is, not by what we gain from Him.