Good Morning Friends,
Have you noticed how easy it is to keep score? Somewhere deep within us there may be an old grievance, a judgment about someone, or simply the conviction that we are right and they are wrong. But Jesus asks us to look at people differently. In today’s parables, something valuable is lost, and the response is not indifference but a determined search. That is especially true of people who are spiritually lost. Jesus teaches us to see them not as opponents or outsiders, but as people of enormous value to God.
And perhaps something else happens when we search for the lost: God searches our own hearts as well. We discover our prejudices, pride, indifference, and our own continuing need to be found by grace. So, Do You Act As If You Are Accountable To God When Sharing The Gospel To The Lost?
Scripture Summaries:
Luke 15:1–10 – When religious leaders criticize Jesus for welcoming sinners, He tells of a shepherd searching for one lost sheep and a woman carefully searching for one lost coin. Both rejoice when what was lost is found. Jesus says heaven likewise rejoices when one sinner repents.
Romans 14:7–12 – Paul reminds us that we belong to the Lord in life and death. Therefore, rather than judging or despising one another, we should remember that each of us is ultimately accountable to God.
Philippians 3:3–8 – Paul takes a kind of spiritual inventory. Everything that once gave Paul status and confidence, he now counts as loss compared with the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ.
Message: I love these parables in Luke because they reveal something wonderful about God and about us: lost people matter to God.
The religious leaders saw sinners as people to avoid. Jesus saw people worth seeking. The shepherd searches. The woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully. And when the lost is found, there is celebration. That is the heart of Christian mission.
But before we begin thinking about someone else’s lostness, we should remember our own. We too have wandered. We too need a Savior who seeks us, finds us, and carries us home. That changes the way we approach others.
We don’t share Christ because we are better than they are. We share Christ because we are beggars who have found bread. We have experienced grace and want others to know where grace can be found.Paul understood this. He looked at everything he had once considered important and placed it on the balance sheet of eternity. Status, reputation, accomplishment, and religious credentials suddenly seemed small beside one great treasure: knowing Christ.
And So, Perhaps we need to take an inventory of our own lives. Do we see spiritually lost people as interruptions, opponents, or people Jesus loves? Do we search half-heartedly, or do we believe one person matters enough to keep searching? Jesus tells us that heaven rejoices when even one lost person comes home. And the book of Romans reminds us why our response matters: each of us is accountable to God. We aren’t responsible for changing someone’s heart. That belongs to God. But we are responsible for how faithfully and lovingly we point toward Christ. Because somewhere along the way, someone pointed us toward Him.
Pray that we have compassion for the lost because we too have been lost. Pray that we believe people are too valuable to give up on. Pray that we repent when our compassion and persistence grow weak. Pray that we never search half-heartedly. Pray that Christ restores our identity and teaches us to see others through His eyes. Pray that God gets His hands on us once again, brings us home, and then uses us to show someone else the way. Pray because there is joy in heaven when the lost are found.
Blessings,
John Lawson
