The Heart of God
Posted by Randy | Labels: Evangelism, Luke | Posted On Friday, October 2, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Luke 15 begins this way: "Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people - even eating with them!"
Jesus was breaking all the rules. How could he allow "these kinds of people" around him? But, these religious leaders were only concerned about themselves, while Jesus' heart always went out to everyone, and especially "these kinds of people" who were disconnected from God. On another occasion he said, "The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost." (Luke 19:10)
In answer to the complaints of the religious leaders, in Luke 15 Jesus told a story to make a point. But then Jesus told another story that made the same point. And he even told a third story that again emphasized his point. Three stories in a row. Clearly, this was important to Jesus - so important that he drove the point home with three stories!
Jesus talked about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. The shepherd left the 99 behind in order to find the one lost sheep. The woman searched her whole house until she found the lost coin. And a father scanned the horizon and then ran out to meet his lost son. And in each case, there was a celebration because what was lost had been found.
Jesus said, "...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." (Luke 15:7) All of heaven celebrates when one person far from God gets connected and comes home.
This is the heart of God. It was His heart for me when I was far from Him. It was His heart for you when you were far from Him. And it's still His heart for the many, many more who are still far from Him, and He won't be satisfied until every single one returns home. We weren't saved to kick back on the couch and relax - we were saved to join Jesus, as the body of Christ today, continuing his mission with the same fervor and determination.
There's so much more I could write about each of these three stories, but the bottom line is that Jesus doesn't want anyone to be lost, and he shows us he'll do whatever it takes to find them. If we are his followers, if we are members of his body, the body of Christ, are we driven by his same passion and mission? If we are his followers, are we actually following Jesus? Think about it...
