Luke 15:7 –
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Jesus fires out three parables when the Pharisees started to question the company he was with that included sinners and tax collectors. First it’s interesting how “tax collectors” are considered bad people … but I digress. The first one is about the lost sheep, the next was the lost coin and the final the lost son (or more well known as the “prodigal son”). The theme is common in all three, something is lost and gets found with much rejoicing.
Think about when you have lost something important to you and after a long search it’s finally found. Remember the feeling of relief? Shoot I rejoice finding my keys, since they seem to walk away often! Now imagine God having formed a person and watch them drift away, once they come back there is even greater rejoicing since it’s more than just a coin or key that’s found. The only example I can think of was when Devon wandered down the street to the petting farm when he was very young. We had the neighbors searching the woods trying to find him and when he drove up smiling in the front seat of the truck we rejoiced!!
Many times people use these as parables justifying running from God for a period. They look at the 99 sheep and say no one notices them, but at the same time they are in God’s will and are not in imminent danger. The lost son parable is a good one because it shows the feelings of the obedient son and his response. The response comes from jealousy that a party is being thrown for the disobedient son and one was never thrown for him. Our response to salvation and gifts should be the same, who cares that we have been faithful for a long time! We should rejoice that others will fall into the same favor as we have almost taken for granted. So if you are drifting, it’s time to come back and if you are solid rejoice in any lost soul that returns!