As Jesus moves through these stories, He is placing greater and greater emphasis upon the value of the thing lost. In the illustration of The Lost Sheep, there was 1 sheep out of 100 missing, just 1%. In the illustration of The Lost Silver, there was 1 coin out of 10 missing, 10%. In the illustration of The Lost Son, there is 1 son out of 2 missing, or 50 %. In the first 2 stories, the objects missing were animal and material. In this illustration, the object missing is a human. Each time, the object lost grows in value and importance. Jesus is trying to tell us that “Every soul is precious to God, even yours!”
Jesus makes no distinction for reaching lost people. Anything lost is worth being found.
Each of these illustrated stories possesses a level of intimacy for lost people. The shepherd has an intimate concern for the sheep because it’s out of the protection of the shepherd. The woman has an intimate closeness with the coin because of what the coin represents in her headband. The father has an intimate connection with his sons because they are a family.
Footnote: Here is a three principle practice for evangelism –
- Concern: As Christians, saved by grace we should be concerned about those you are out of the love and protection of the Great Shepherd.
- Closeness: Hold lost people dear to your heart to the point that you can’t live without them.
- Connection: Build relationships with lost people to bring them into the family of faith.
However, out of these three illustrated stories, I believe the most intimate story told relating to reaching lost people is found here in the story of the lost sons. The driving factor of this story is the love of the father towards his two sons. The point in this driving factor of love says to us that embracing lost people starts with a love for lost people. It’s difficult to embrace that which you don’t love and love that which you don’t embrace.
All three (3) stories communicate an important principle that is to be our primary motivation for reaching lost people. Our motivation for reaching lost people is not:
- To grow a church
- To increase the churches finances
Our primary motivation for reaching lost people is the burning desire to see lost people come into an intimate relationship with a our loving Father, God.
This final story drives home the point that God has a special place in His heart for lost people. However, this story takes it to a whole new level. It’s more personal. Jesus uses a family environment to paint the picture that lost people matter whether their in a wilderness, dirty house, far country, and in the house (or in our families). Every soul is precious to God!
This story shows us two (2) vital attributes of our loving Father.
I. The GRACE of our Father – V. 11-16
The text says; “A certain man had two sons; and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me portion of goods that’s coming to me’. And he (the father) divided unto them his living.”
Interesting! This son had to know the father well enough to know that if he asked the father would give it to him. This young man’s downslide was not only in the asking but an assumed familiarity with the father.
Here’s what I mean;
I have a friend at work who is a successful businessman. He owns and operates his own company while working a full time job. About a year or two ago he designed a new product called the driving sleeve. It is designed to protect a persons arm from sun burn while driving in extreme heat. He’s gone through the normal process of starting a business in getting incorporated and new product licensed so that no one can steal his idea. For the last year or so he’s been talking to me about the progress of his business, I’ve assisted him in writing a business plan to present to investors, to acquire a business loan, etc. Needless to say his business is well on it’s way to becoming a million dollar plus business. He’s purchased a $12m sewing business for $500,000 that is already in the retail business with major retail chains (JC Penneys, Target, Walmart, etc) and sporting divisions (NBA, MLB, NFL, etc). I mean his business is set to be successful.
After one of our conversations regarding the progress his business, with gleam and excitement in his eyes he made this comment; “It’s the man upstairs making this happen!” Without assuming anything, I asked who are you talking about and he said, God.
I’m pretty confident that he doesn’t have a personal relationship with God. But the point is this, too many people are comfortable knowing about God but not knowing God for themselves. And that’s the challenge of our day, getting people away from just know about God but showing them the importance of having an intimate relationship with a loving Father.
The son is so familiar with the father that he’s comfortable asking his father for more. Apparently, he has everything a son could want in life and yet he’s still not satisfied with what the father is providing.
Many commentators and scholars try to explain why the son wants to leave home and I believe all the reasons I’ve read are somewhat speculative. However, Joel Gregory in his sermon synopsis of this text says that sin is not badness but sin is apartness. By this son asking for his inheritance before its time literally breaks his relationship with his father.
For whatever the reason, this son would rather have broken fellowship with his father for the comforts of the world. Isn’t that what we’re seeing today in our world? People would rather have the comforts of today rather than a relationship with our heavenly Father.
Now, the beauty of the text is that when the son asked, the father gave. The son didn’t deserve the inheritance right then. The father gave to the younger son and to the elder brother.
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God. (G.W. Knight, Clip-Art Features for Church Newsletters, p. 53.)
The act of this father shows us an attribute of God in how he treats both the just and the unjust, His Grace. Embracing the lost is imparting grace on the lost (or the one that needs it). However, how we handle the grace of God can have positive/negative results:
A. The Recklessness of Grace – v. 11-13
The way we handle God’s grace can lead to our own destruction.
B. The Recognition of Grace – v. 14-17
Recognizing our mistakes through repentance will lead to total restoration with the Father.
C. The Reality In Grace – v. 18-19
The reality in grace is that you can’t make it without God
Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped away, breaking her mother’s heart. Knowing what life on the streets would be like for her young, attractive daughter, Maria hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing. Pictures. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of small black-and-white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio de Janiero. Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that were before unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with the reputation for street walkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture--taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo she wrote a note. It wasn’t too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village.
It was a few weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village was, in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina’s eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home." She did. (Max Lucade, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Multnomah Press, 1986, pp. 158-9.)
And I believe God and His grace is saying the same thing, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what you have become you can come home.
II. The MERCY of our Father – V. 20-24
Now, the second important attribute I see in the text is God’s MERCY. The text says; when the father saw his son coming down the street that he (the father) met him with compassion and a kiss.
We see mercy in action here. The rebellious son comes home and before he can get one word out the father meets him with compassion. And, to make it more plain, mercy is a forgiving Father meeting a repentant sinner. God holiness demands judgment on the sinner but His mercy says give them another chance.
The father did not go through the normal human acts of;
- “I told you so.”
- “You got what you deserved.”
- “You can come in the house only if you…”
- “Where’s my money?”
- “How could you do this to me?”
- “Wasn’t I a good father to you?”
Joel Gregory in his sermon synopsis on the text says of forgiveness: “Forgiveness is only forgiveness when it is absolute.” There can be no forgiveness if it is remembered. There can be no forgiveness if it has qualifications. Forgiveness is only forgiveness when it is absolute.
My beloved brothers and sisters thank God we serve a God of absolute forgiveness.
The son teaches us an important lesson about repentance. In v. 17, the son is speaking to himself about returning to the father and asking for forgiveness. But in v. 18 and 21, we see him actually get up and go to the father and repent. The point I’m making here is that many people think about repentance but don’t actually repent. We have conversations with ourselves like this; “I can’t believe I just did that. I need to pray and ask for forgiveness.” We think about it but we never do it as if what we tell God is going to surprise Him. He’s not surprised and let’s just say if He is surprised. He’s not surprised that you told Him, if anything, He’s surprised that you finally came to Him.
Listen, don’t let your pride, stubbornness, arrogance, or whatever keep you from receiving what God wants to give. He wants to forgive you. He’s waiting to forgive. But you have to repent.
Mal 3:7
Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,"
Says the LORD of hosts.
"But you said,
’In what way shall we return?’
Allow me to help you here just in case you’re having problems with repenting. Here is how forgiveness works, as I see it in the text, for the one who repents:
► Forgiveness is acceptance (v. 19)
God accepts His children as his children and nothing less than His children. And as a principle if God accepts sinners we should accept sinners.
► Forgiveness is restoration (v. 20-24a)
Upon our confession and repentance, our relationship with God is restored at that moment. John says; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – 1 John 1:9.
► Forgiveness is celebrative (v. 24B)
When a lost person some to God and receives the forgiveness of God, it’s time to celebrate.
Conclusion:
Longer, Daddy, Longer
By John Trent
Recently a woman grabbed my arm at a conference after I had finished speaking on the enormous need we all have for affirmation.
"Dr. Trent, may I tell you my story?" she asked. "Actually it’s a story of something my son did with my granddaughter. My son has two daughters, one who’s five and one who is in the ’terrible twos." When a grandmother says this child is in the ’terrible twos,’ believe me, she is!
"For several years, my son has taken the oldest girl out for a date time, but he had never taken the two year old out until recently. On his first date with the younger one, he took her out to breakfast at a local fast food restaurant.
"They had just gotten their pancakes and my son decided it would be a good time to tell this child how much he lover and appreciate her." "Jenny," her son had said, "I want you to know how much I love you and how special you are to Mom and me. We prayed for you for years, and now that you’re here and growing up to be such a wonderful girl, we couldn’t be more proud of you."
Once he had said all this, he stopped talking and reached over for his fork to begin eating … but he never got the fork to his mouth.
His daughter reach out with her little hand and laid in on her father’s hand. His eyes went to hers, and in a soft, pleading voice she said, "Longer, Daddy, longer."
He put down his fork and proceeded to tell her some more reasons and ways they loved and appreciated her, and then he again reached for his fork. A second time … and a third … and a fourth time he heard the words, "Longer, Daddy, longer."
This father never did get much to eat that morning, but his daughter got the emotional nourishment she needed so much. In fact a few days later, she spontaneously ran up to her mother and said, "I’m a really special daughter, Mommy. Daddy told me so." (Stories for the Heart)
What else can I say except, "That’s my Dad!" Amen.
You’re special to God more than you know. Come home to the Father.
