It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is
alive again, and was lost and is found. Luke 15:32
Jesus was often accused by the Pharisees for being too welcoming with sinners like parable of the lost sheep, (2) the parable of the lost coin, and (3) the parable of the lost son. Jesus doesn’t believe in a “token hunt” for the lost. He doesn’t believe in just walking through the harvest field proclaiming that harvest time has come. Jesus believes in the actual ingathering of the lost.
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus counts the sheep in His flock every day. In church, we count people because people count! Every number represents a life that Christ died for on the cross. Without counting, how would a shepherd know if any of his sheep is missing? A good shepherd would “go after the one which is lost until he finds it”(Luke 15:4). A conscientious woman who has lost a silver coin would “light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it” (Luke 15:8). Soul-winning is too important a task to be left to half-hearted, token efforts.
In the parable of the prodigal son, after feeding swine in the pigsty, the son fi nally came to his senses. He would go home to his father and confess his sins to him. He would then make amends by working as a hired servant. There was true repentance and a desire to make restitution. When the lost son was still a distance from his home, his father saw him. For many months now, dad has been standing by the gate every day, waiting for his son to come home. And when the father met him, he hugged the son, gave him the best robe, put a ring on his fi nger and new sandals on his feet, killed the best calf, and threw him the best party in town. Unfortunately, the elder son didn’t share in the celebration. He was unhappy about the fuss made over the return of his lost brother.
Have you ever wondered what might have happened if the elder brother greeted the prodigal son first at the gate? His holier-than-thou attitude would have forever driven him back to the pigsty! It would have confirmed the negative bias that sinners like him could never start life afresh. Thank God it was the merciful father and not the harsh elder brother who greeted him at the door.
The three parables of Luke 15 tell us this: (1) soul-winning is serious work, (2) soulwinning is dedicated work, and (3) soul-winning is compassionate work. Watch your attitude the next time you meet people who are really “messed up” in life. Your attitude can give them the faith they need to start life afresh, or drive them further away from God. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Let's have compassion for the lost!(:
Love,
Mel(:
2:15 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
