Luke 15:1-10 (NRSV)
Read Luke 15:1-10 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 15Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. Verse 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." Verse 3So he told them this parable: Verse 4"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? Verse 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. Verse 6And 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.' Verse 7Just 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. Verse 8"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? Verse 9When 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.' Verse 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Devotion
If you were to hear about someone who searches high and low for a single coin—even a silver coin—you might think the person to be obsessive or miserly. Perhaps you would be right. Given that interpretation, we are told that God is obsessive, even miserly about people—even about you and me. God does not want even one to be lost—not even one. It can be easy to write people off, to let people go who are lost physically, morally or spiritually. When we ourselves are lost, we might not want to be found. We might want to be left alone, to revel or to despair in our distancing. God does not leave the lost and distanced alone but searches for them—searches us out, wherever we might be.
Prayer
Dear God, when we are lost, whether we revel, sulk, or despair in our lostness, open us up to your presence. Help us see that we are indeed lost and by your grace empower us to receive your love and return to your embrace. Give us seeking hearts, that we might reach out to the lost in our midst with love and not judgment that the lost might be found. Amen.
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