Luke 15:11-24
'And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ (Luke 15:23, 24)
Is Re-found really a word? Well, technically, no. But for this devotional and this lesson I’ll be teaching on Sunday, yes, it’s a word! Doesn’t Re-Found mean that you’re found more than once? Sure does!
The Bible story of the Prodigal Son, also known as the Parable of the Lost Son, follows immediately after the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. With these three parables, Jesus demonstrated what it means to be lost, how heaven celebrates with joy when the lost are found, and how the loving Father longs to save people.
I use the word Re-found for several reasons. Because this Parable by Jesus has a role in it played by everyone. You could start out as one character and end up being another character. Watch this…are you a prodigal, a Pharisee, or a servant?
Are you the rebellious sron, lost and far from God? Are you the self-righteous Pharisee, no longer capable of rejoicing when a sinner returns to God? Are you a lost sinner seeking salvation and finding the father’s love? Are you standing to the side, watching and wondering how the father could ever forgive you? Maybe you've hit rock-bottom, come to your senses, and decided to run to God's open arms of compassion and mercy. Or are you one of the servants in the household, rejoicing with the father when a lost son finds his way home? Are you the uncaring, jealous brother, coveting someone else?
Jesus was at another coaching moment. He found an opportunity to touch a lot of different people at one time. Jesus told the Prodigal Son story in response to the Pharisees' complaint: "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). He wanted his follower to know why he chose to associate with sinners. You have to admit that when a Christian is seen with someone that is not the greatest example of “right” others start to wonder and think, hmmm, is that Christian for real or a hypocrite?
For this week’s devotional, I’m not going to tell the story itself. That will all come in class. But what I want to do is highlight the crux of the story. So my first flurry of questions to you is, what is the condition of your family? What is the condition of your church? What is the condition of your heart? This section of Luke's Gospel is dedicated to the lost. The heavenly Father loves lost sinners and his love restores them to right relationship with God. In fact, heaven is filled with, one time, lost sinners who have come home.
Soooooooooooo, the first question “the story” raises for readers is, "Am I lost?" The father is a picture of our Heavenly Father. God waits patiently, with loving compassion to restore us when we return to him with humble hearts. That is one of the wonderful traits of God, Longsuffering. He offers us everything in his kingdom, restoring full relationship with joyful celebration. He doesn't dwell on our past waywardness.
This third parable ties the three together in a beautiful picture of our heavenly Father. With the return of his son, the father finds the precious treasure for which he had hunted. His lost sheep was home. It was time to celebrate! What love, compassion, and forgiveness he shows!
Bitterness and resentment kept the older son from forgiving his younger brother. It blinds him to the treasure he freely enjoys through constant relationship with the father. Are you NOT getting along with a brother or sister or both? Is there a strain there because of something someone did or said? Was it because of money, or Stuff? Friends, what would Jesus do? Better yet, what would Jesus want YOU to do that would make him say to you, “Well Done My Good and Faithful, Servant. Enter In to the JOY of the Lord!” What’s more important? Being the Winner in an argument, or Being more like Jesus and doing anything it takes to bring LOVE back into a relationship? For the Christian, death is not the end, but for the broken relationship between siblings…it could be. And that is the saddest part.
Jesus loved hanging out with sinners because he knew they would see their need of salvation and respond, flooding heaven with joy. Friends, what are you doing that is flooding heaven with JOY?
Now, does the word Re-Found make sense to you? Re-found relationships are one of the greatest joys in life!!! Amen!
Deacon: Neal Gracey
