The Prodigal Son Series

The Prodigal Son

Luke 15

Lost. Being lost is no fun. I remember when I was a small child, wandered away; ended up in a industrial field with lots of deep holes dug; walking on a 12” wide path between; lost track of time; when I headed home, met by a group of kids: my mom had whole neighborhood out looking for me. When she saw me, ran up and hugged me and then spanked me all the way home! Turn to Luke 15 in your Bibles.

Lost. It’s really no laughing matter. Recently in the news Josh McClatchy 6 days in Arkansas; Amanda Eller found after lost 2 weeks in Hawaii.

I wonder what it’s like to be really lost. Wandering in the forest…hour after hour/day after day…all the tree lines look the same; can’t distinguish which path is the right path; can’t pick out any markings that would give you a hint where you were or where you needed to go. Lost.

That word lost is a good Bible term. What does it mean to be lost? Isaiah 59:1-2

”Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God.”

That is the ultimate consequence of sin…isolation from the One who loves you the most. If you define sin as choosing your own way instead of God’s way, then sin places you on a path away from God. It separates you from Him.

Separated. That’s it. Separated. If you’re lost at sea or lost in the forest, then you are separated and isolated from about everything that is important: separated from sufficient food and clothing; separated from protection and shelter. And even if you can find food, clothing, and shelter, you are separated from the most important thing: your existence in the context of other people…you’re separated from your friends. You’re separated from your lifestyle. You’re separated from your loved ones.

You’ll remember in the movie “Castaway,” Tom Hanks’ plane goes down in the South Pacific. He survives somehow and lives for 4 years on this uncharted island. He devises ways to catch rain water. He devises ways to protect himself from the sun and elements. He devises ways to catch fish and have enough food to eat. But that’s not enough. Every day he surveys the horizon to see any trace of someone, a ship, a plan, anyone who can reconnect him with his former existence. But no one comes. And he is isolated; separated; lost. (Scene from Castaway where he turns flashlight on/off to see wife)

The Bible says that outside of Christ, you are separated and isolated from God. Yeah, you can devise ways to clothe yourself, feed yourself, protect yourself. You might get glimpses of Him periodically in creation or as He shows Himself at work in our world. But you’ll still be isolated and separated from your most meaningful purpose and existence.

Every day a person stays lost, they are isolated from the joy and peace and purpose they could experience.

Every day a person stays lost, they are isolated from the most meaningful and purposeful existence anyone can ever have.

Every day a person stays lost, they are isolated from the One who loves them the most.

And if a person stays lost, if they fail to connect to Jesus in this life, then they will stay isolated and separated from God in the next life; for all eternity.

Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” That’s why He came. That was the purpose of His mission. If you were an angel in heaven and saw Jesus packing His bags to leave heaven and go to planet earth, and asked him why are you going; what’s your mission, he would have said, “I’m going after those who are lost. That’s my mission.”

Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father; the love of the Father for those who were separated from Him, isolated from Him; lost.

One day Jesus is hanging with some questionable characters, you know, prostitutes, politicians, preachers—the worst, right? And the Pharisees and religious establishment questioned His righteousness because of it. They figured if He really was close to God, He certainly wouldn’t hang with such questionable characters. And so Jesus tells three stories to illustrate the Father’s heart for those who are far from Him.

This chapter has been called, “God’s Lost and Found.” I think maybe it is my favorite chapter in all of the Bible. One of my top 10 for sure.

v.1 Tax collectors: collaborated with the Romans; overcharged taxes; hated by the Jews…like IRS agent!

sinners: general term for the street people; common; uncultured; unschooled in the particulars of the Hebrew Scripture and the Law.