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To read:
Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen
to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,
“This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them
this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing
one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go
after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it,
he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he
calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice
with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell
you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or
what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does
not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she
finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and
neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that
I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” |
To think about:
At one point when I was a teenager, I felt as though I needed to
nail down the exact time, place, and reason why and how I became a
Christian. I searched for that moment when a beam of light came from
the sky and shone on me so that I came to know God through Jesus
Christ. Friends of mine would recount stories of how they were “born
again” or “accepted Christ as their savior,” and yet I had no such
“ah-ha” moment of my own to claim. It was not until years later that
I realized God has always been present in my life; through the love
expressed to me by my parents, the encouragement I received from
teachers and friends, the awe and inspiration of my surroundings,
and in the accomplishment of using the special gifts and skills I
have been given that are uniquely my own.
But more importantly, I came to know that God has chosen us all
first. Regardless of whether we know it or not, he is ever present
in our lives. And though some may be born into the flock while
others are gathered, no one sheep is less cared for than another.
And what is more amazing is that none of us earn this love, for it
is freely given to all, for all, through Jesus Christ.
So as the woman, who rejoices with her friends for the coin she has
found, know that you are already a part of a celebration, a
celebration where everyone is invited and no one is lost. |
