“Connected: Never Once”
Ez. 34:11-6; Lk. 15:1-32
The past few weeks we’ve been considering what it means to be connected to God. Admittedly, spiritual disciplines are hard – they take time, effort, and energy. There are times when we simply fail to make a good connection. But the good news we celebrate this morning is that we remain connected to God because God is connected to us through Jesus. Never once have we ever walked alone; never once did He leave us all alone. He is faithful.
This ongoing connectedness is what Luke 15 is all about. “1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."” The religious leaders were having a hard time understanding Jesus. He was supposed to be one of them but He spent his time with all the outsiders. They were upset. How would you feel? It’s like a young girl who’s all excited about her boyfriend coming to her house to spend some time with her – and he spends all the time with playing with her little brother. She would be upset! Jesus knew what they leaders were feeling. So Jesus told them some parables, some stories about connectedness.
Story #1 was about A SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP. A shepherd had 100 sheep and one was missing. Not content with having 99%, the shepherd left the 99 in open territory, somewhat unprotected, so he could go search for the one lost sheep, find it, and bring it back into the flock. The lost sheep represents those who, at one time or another, have been WANDERERS. I recall the time we were camping as a family and one of our sons, who was very young, had walked to the end of our road in the campground. Somehow he wandered away from whoever was with him and kept walking. Soon he was on the next road over, running and screaming down the road because he was lost – he was in a panic because he couldn’t find us – even though we could still see him! He was clearly lost. He had not set out to be lost, it was not his purpose to be lost, but he was lost. He was so busy enjoying himself that he had simply wandered onto the wrong road. And he had no clue how to get back on the right road. He was like these wanderers.
We’ve all been wanderers at some point - becoming so busy living and enjoying life that we simply wander away from the truth, nibbling here and there, then end up lost, on the wrong road. Then the time comes when we recognize we’re lost, but have no clue how to find our way back. That’s where Jesus comes on the scene. He is the Shepherd who, having never lost sight of the wanderers comes to pick them up and carry them home, just as we went to our son, picked him up, and carried him back to our trailer. GOD WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, GO WHEREVER IS NECESSARY, TO BRING THE WANDERER HOME. Never once are the wanderers left alone or abandoned. Jesus is the Shepherd prophesied by Ezekiel, who will “bring back the strays…bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.”
To expand and strengthen His point, Jesus told Story #2. It was about A WOMAN AND HER COIN. A woman had ten coins, and realizes she’s lost one – about a days’ wage. So she sweeps and searches until she finds it. The coin represents those who, at one time or another, have been VANISHERS. Has your luggage ever disappeared at an airline? Has the television remote ever been lost when you desperately need it (because the game is ready to begin?) Ever need to search frantically for your car keys because they’re nowhere to be found? Has a sock ever gotten lost in the wash? The luggage, the remote, the keys, the sock had nothing to do with getting lost, and didn’t know they were lost. They just were.
The reality is we’ve been like that – we’ve had times when, through no real fault of our own, we feel totally lost – and wonder if we’re missed. We feel we’ve just slipped off everyone’s radar screen and no one misses us or cares. That’s where Jesus comes on the scene. Since we are of value to Him, God will spend every ounce of energy and every moment of time find us, to come to us where we are. Jesus is the owner who sweeps and searches until He has us once again firmly in His grasp. Never once are the vanishers left to find their own way back. Never once are we abandoned, for, as Jesus said, nothing can snatch us out of His hand (Jn. 10:28).
Building to a climax, Jesus told Story #3 about A FATHER AND HIS SONS. The younger son rebelled, disowned his father, took his inheritance, and went as far away as he could, to live his own life in his own way. He stands for the RUNNERS, those who have thrown off their religious upbringing, who have openly rebelled and run away from God to build their own life, to get out from underneath the rules and regulations of what they perceive as a tyrannical, freedom limiting God. That’s where Jesus comes on the scene. He’s the Father who, while releasing His son, never stops looking for his return and never once stops loving. And when He sees the son in the distance, returning home, HE HITS THE ROAD RUNNING to embrace him; he throws a party of celebration and reinstates him as His son. Never once do we come home to an empty house or a cold heart.
But then there’s the elder son. He’s worked so hard to earn his father’s approval that he despises his little brother and gets angry at his father for throwing a ‘welcome home party’ upon his brother’s return. He’s worked so hard to try to earn love that he has no clue that he is already loved. He represents the WAYWARD. When we moved to Kalamazoo we had a little dog named Josie. He was cute and loveable – but he was dumb, at least when it came to a sense of direction. He could walk to the end of our sidewalk and have no clue how to get back to the house. The previous owners, who had lived in Holland, told stories of Josie being found on the other side of town. He simply had no clue how good it was right at home and never realized when he wasn’t there. He was oblivious to where home was and what it was all about. There was no intimacy between him and our home.
The reality is that there are a lot of people like that – who are oblivious to the blessings of home and, while physically living there, are never really there. They have no sense of intimacy with home, so they never miss it. That’s where Jesus comes on the scene. He’s the father who lovingly seeks out his elder son to express his love and invite him in. He’s the father who says, “…you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” GOD IS ALWAYS INVITING; HIS DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN. Never once is our home’s door closed.
Did you notice something? There’s a thread which ties all these parables together – it’s God’s heart of joy at the finding and saving of the lost. Jesus wanted the religious leaders, and us, to know Him better. THESE STORIES ARE ALL ABOUT GOD’S HEART. God is the one taking action. In Jesus, God is the seeker, the go-getter, the finder, the party host, the inviter. God wants lost people saved. Ever have one of your children get lost – or know someone who did – even if for a brief time? How did you or their heart feel? The same way the heart of our heavenly Father feels when He sees the lost – broken and determined. GOD IS COMMITTED TO SEEKING AND SAVING THOSE WHO ARE APART FROM HIM. It is why He sent His one and only Son to die – that the lost might be saved. Jesus affirmed this when He claimed (Luke 19:10): “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” If you, in fact, identified with the wanderer, the vanisher, the runner, or the wayward this morning – know this: God is here right now seeking you. He wants to bring you home. Never once will he leave you all alone. As Frances Thompson poetically states it in “The Hound of Heaven”: “I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes, I sped; And shot, precipitated,, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, From those strong Feet that followed after, followed after.” Never once will God fail to follow. Let yourself be found!
GOD IS ALWAYS ON THE RUN TO US. Whatever your situation, God will always come to you; Jesus lives out God’s passion and runs to you to help. “She was fifteen and he was seventeen when they met. All through high school they dated and after high school, it was not a surprise to anyone that they married. Four years later she was standing in her kitchen with a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, two children at her feet, and a pile of dirty diapers in the corner. Tears were streaming down her face. Looking back, she could never be quite sure why she made the decision, but she did. She took off her apron and walked out. She called that night and her young husband answered the phone. He was, understandably, quite worried and also angry. ‘Where are you?’ he said, his concern and anger fighting for control of his voice. ‘How are the children?’ she asked, ignoring his question. ‘Well, if you mean have they been fed, they have. I’ve also put them to bed. They are wondering, just as I am, where are you? What are you doing?’ She hung up the phone that night, but it wasn’t the last of the phone calls. She called almost every week for the next three months. Her husband, knowing that something was seriously wrong, began to plead with her to come home. He would tell her that the children were with their grandparents during the day and were well cared for. He would tell her he loved her. He would tell her how much they all missed her, and then he would try to find out where she was. Whenever the conversation turned to her whereabouts, she would hang up.
Finally the young husband could stand it no longer. He took their savings and hired a private detective to find his wife. The detective reported that the runaway wife was in a third-rate hotel in DesMoines, Iowa. The young man borrowed money from his in-laws, bought a plane ticket and flew to DesMoines. After taking a cab to the hotel, he climbed the stairs to his wife’s room on the third floor. With doubt in his eyes and perspiration on his forehead, his trembling hand knocked on the door. When his wife opened the door, he forgot his prepared speech and said, ‘We love you so much. Won’t you come home?’ She fell apart in his arms. They went home together. One evening, some weeks later, the children were in bed and he and his wife were sitting in the living room before the fire. He finally got up enough courage to ask the question that had haunted him for so many months. He asked, ‘Why wouldn’t you come home? Why, when I told you over and over again that I loved you and missed you, didn’t you come home?’ ‘Because,’ she said with profound simplicity, ‘before those were only words. But then you came.’”
God loves us so much He comes to us. It’s so easy to read “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But there is so much more to it. The religious leaders opposed Him; His disciples & family misunderstood Him; His enemies pursued Him; His friends betrayed Him, left Him, and denied Him. Publicly and privately He was mocked; He underwent an unjust, illegal trial; He was whipped, beaten, and had a crown of thorns jammed onto his head. He carried a cross, and underwent the horror of crucifixion. And through it all He bore the weight of our sin; in fact He became sin for us. Paul said it eloquently (Rom. 5:8 NLT): “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Yes – God is always on the run to us. And He will always run to you. Why? Because GOD’S GREATEST JOY IS THE RETURN OF THOSE APART FROM HIM. (7) – “I tell you that in the same way there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (10) – “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (24) – “‘For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (32) – But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So great is God’s joy that one person is not adequate to celebrate – it takes neighbors, friends, family, and heavenly hosts!
Yes – God is always on the run to us; He runs to us to make a great transfer. “From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us...From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” He brings all of the faithfulness, kindness, and mercy of God into your life. “From the fullness of His grace…” any and every grace He has is available for you. HE WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE GRACE YOU NEED. Jesus brings grace upon grace, one blessing after another, repeated and endless favors. It is continuous, with no limit. Where one grace ends, another begins; when one blessing is no longer adequate, another begins. When one favor is no longer needed, another begins. When our needs and situations change so does the mercy of God. There is a blessing for old age and one for youth; there is favor for those in prosperity and for those in adversity; there is grace for success and grace for failure.
Perhaps this morning you’re burdened with guilt – Jesus is running to you with assurance of pardon. Maybe you’re mired in sin – Jesus is running to you with forgiveness. Possibly you’re worshiping with a heavy heart, in sorrow, or feeling all alone – Jesus is running to be present with you. If you’re bound by fear, He will set you free. If you’re wrestling, seeking guidance, He will give you wisdom. If you’re feeling worthless and unloved, He will love you. If you’re at your wits end, He is running to you with hope. Wherever you are, wherever you look, wherever you go – Jesus is in His way to you with grace upon grace, with one wonderful blessing after another. Never once will you ever walk alone. He is faithful.
JESUS IS RUNNING TO SHARE HIS LIFE WITH YOU. Jesus died so that you and I might live. And this morning He wants to transfer the love in His heart to your heart. He deeply desires you to know the joy of being loved. Right now He’s running to you. Stop what you’re doing, stop what you’re thinking – and open your arms and heart to Him. Are you ready? Here He is! Let us pray.
