The Lutheran Hour
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"God’s Search and Rescue for the Lost"
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Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
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Peace to you, my friend, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Have you noticed that we live in a culture intent on finding what is lost, especially when it’s something valuable to the seeker?
For example, people love their cell phones. Did you know that your phone may have the “find your phone” option? It really is some amazing technology. If you lose your phone, you can log onto a computer account, look on a digital map, and see exactly where your phone is hiding. Someone spent a lot of time developing a complex technological system so that people who lose their phones can really find them.
When something is precious to people, they especially want to find it if it is lost. Go into almost any store, school, hotel, even church and you’ll usually find an area called the “lost and found.” Those places hold on to items left behind in the hope that what people misplace will be sought out, reclaimed. We hope that lost things, especially precious things, will be found.
This is especially true if it involves a person precious to us. Think about the lengths we will go to to find children that are lost. On milk cartons at the grocery store you’ll see pictures of missing children. The Amber Alert System sends out messages to the media and to special electronic signs posted along the highways if anyone is missing or lost. If a person loses their way at state or national park, search parties are assembled, volunteers step up, helicopters search by air, and no expense is spared to bring back a lost person safely.
As human beings, we’ll pull out all the stops to find precious things, precious people when they are lost. Well, if people care about finding that which is lost, the Bible says, God cares infinitely more. In fact, God is passionately committed to finding the lost, people like you and me.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, what was the first thing that God did? He went looking for them. When the people of Israel cried out in the agony of slavery, God sought them out. He came down to deliver them. When God’s people lost their way and strayed from a path of obedience, God sent judges and prophets to lead and to guide them. When the world was lost in its hopelessness and sin, God sent His one and only Son to rescue and to save us. Jesus even said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 ESV).
God is infinitely passionate about finding the lost; especially when it’s people lost because of their sin.
That’s what Jesus was communicating in Luke chapter 15. Tax collectors and sinners were flocking to Jesus. In the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes, these sinners were unworthy and too far-gone. They were lost causes. So these church leaders grumbled, “This man receives sinners and He eats with them.”
Jesus responded by telling three parables, three stories. The first was about a sheep that strayed from its flock. Though ninety-nine were safe, the shepherd left the ninety-nine, found the lost sheep, and carried it home to safety. The second was about a woman looking for a lost coin. She wouldn’t stop until she found that money. At the end of each of these parables, Jesus said, “I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The third story reached the pinnacle of preciousness…it was the parable of the lost son.When Jesus told these three parables in a row, it was His way of emphasizing a point. He wants every listener to know that God is passionate about finding the lost. He came seeking sinful human beings to turn the lives of sinners around. He came to rescue people whose lives were withering and dying.
That’s what the word “lost” means. It doesn’t mean “misplaced.” It doesn’t mean that God forgot where He put something or someone. The word means that someone’s life is ebbing away, perishing, crumbling, being destroyed. It means that, in our sinful state, we have entered into the dangerous territory of losing our lives forever. So, when Jesus started to tell that third story, He not only ramped up the preciousness meter, He also sounded the warning bell about the dangers of being lost and the joy of being found by the God who loves you.
Jesus said, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
You know, when I travel around the country, I’m privileged to hear stories about how much the good news of Jesus means to many of you. You’ve told me about times when you felt alone and lost, and then someone shared God’s love with you and it was like you were found! Jesus tells us all about the power of that kind of love when He shared a story about two “lost sons.” Maybe you can relate.Jesus said: “There was a man. He had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had and he took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went out and hired himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants”‘” (Luke 15:11-19 ESV).
This boy was lost, wasn’t he? As we go through the story today, I want to talk to you about three “heart conditions” that contribute to lostness: a barren heart, a broken heart, and a bitter heart. This boy had a barren heart.
He was heartless as he showed hatred to his father by demanding his inheritance before his father died. As you can imagine, by doing this, the son was saying to his dad, “I wish you were dead.”
This boy, then, emptied himself of the blessings and tools he had been given. He left his family behind and began to do everything he was taught not to do. He was an unhappy camper with anger to show and a point to prove. And it all came crashing down. It’s interesting to note that this boy is the first to use the term “lost” in the parable. When he acknowledged that he was perishing with hunger, the word “perish” is the same word for “lost.” The young man realized his life was ebbing away.
A friend in a Twelve Step program always told me that a person has to hit bottom before they admit to being empty and powerless. The barren heart of this boy was that “rock bottom” point.
You may be at that point in your life. If you’re feeling your lostness today, I want to let you know that God is calling you to come home to Him. If your life is spinning out of control in rebellion, if you feel empty and have hit rock bottom, confess to God that you need His help. God is reaching out to rescue your heart with His living Word! David spoke in the Bible about God’s faithful work. He said, “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound” (Psalms 4:7 NIV). God wants you to know the joy of being found by Him!
But this boy’s barren heart wouldn’t believe such a thing. He literally went from one empty extreme to another. From rebellion and emptiness, this boy veered into sinful, self-loathing.
Hearts made barren by feelings of self-loathing and complete worthlessness is a big problem today. If you don’t look like a magazine model, if you’re not in a relationship, if you don’t have the most glamorous or high-paying job, if you can’t have children, if you aren’t in the “in crowd,” you may begin to count yourself as completely inferior, no good for anybody, even yourself.
But the whispers like that, the whispers of inferiority that you hear, they’re not from God. It’s the devil who wants to demoralize you, not God. Satan wants you to forget that the Bible says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV) You are God’s child: redeemed by Him, bought with the blood of Jesus, treasured for His purposes, forgiven and delighted over. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. If you are lost in self-loathing and self-criticism today, God comes to you and says you are worth everything to Me. He says to you today, “Fear not, I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1 ESV).
Yes, repentance and God’s grace can overcome a barren heart. But that incredible grace can help mend a broken heart, too.
Back to the story…Imagine the father’s pain when his soon-to-be-lost son spoke hateful and hurtful words to him and walked out of his life. Maybe you don’t even have to imagine.
I know that there are parents, and grandparents, and great-grandparents listening today who have broken hearts. Be careful, because you may become lost in your broken-heartedness, too. When you second-guess yourself, when you wonder what you did wrong and what you could have done better, when you are filled with worry and plagued by regret, you become lost.
But remember, dear friend, God is passionate about finding all who are lost, not just you. You can be assured that He is holding onto the person you care about. He is also seeking you. The Bible assures you: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalms 34:18 ESV). “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalms 147:3 ESV). God hears your prayers. He is at work for you. You can trust Him with your loved one. You can cast your cares upon Him.
In fact, Jesus illustrates the point. It’s like He’s saying, “Do you want to know God the Father’s heart?” Well, just look at the father in this story. Jesus said: “And [the son] arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:20-24 ESV).
No one would have ever expected Jesus to describe the father in this way. A dignified first-century father would have most likely written off his son as dead and never received him back. But this father, we hear, saw his son approaching and felt compassion. The word literally means that the father’s “heart went out to him.” To a son with an empty heart, the father’s heart went out to him to refill it and replenish it with a love that can only be described as “grace in action.” Running out to his son, the father descended upon him with hugs and kisses and joy in his heart. The wide-eyed listeners to this story never heard of such compassion.
But that is what God is like with the lost. He drew close to us as a healer and teacher and friend. He hobnobbed with lost causes like us and showed us that God cares deeply for us. In the story, the father gave his lost son come home royal robes, a ring, and sandals. In the story, the father killed his specially prepared calf. In real life, God the Father had His one and only Son put to death on the cross. Jesus was punished in our place as a sacrifice for our sins. In real life, God the Father clothes us with Jesus’ righteousness as a gift.
Could there be any bigger surprise? Have you ever thought about God in this way? Well, think about what Jesus is saying, “This is how passionate God is about finding the lost.” This is how urgently and actively God the Father seeks you and me today. So, has He found you? Are you being embraced by Him today?
If you can’t answer that question today, it will still demand your attention tomorrow because you were meant to be in a relationship to the God who created and redeemed you. It’s a pressing question too because being lost can become a way of life if you’re not careful. In the story, Jesus doesn’t just speak of the one vagabond, lost son; He also speaks about the lost son who never left home. He describes the older lost son this way: “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and he refused to go in. So, his father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found'” (Luke 15:25-32 ESV).
The older son was lost in a bitter heart. If you feel hurt, or cheated, or slighted, or left out, or betrayed, your heart can become bitter. And a bitter heart can destroy you. It can steal your joy, dominate your thoughts, and torment you day after day.
That’s why the father made this effort to find his older son too. He sought him out to show his compassion and to encourage him. He invited him to celebrate. He reminded him that a new life is always something to celebrate, that having a compassionate heart never robs you of anything.
So, if your heart is lost in bitterness today, God the Father reaches out to you. The problem you wrestle with is not yours alone to bear. No, God will take care of that problem. He will deal with that person. And as He does that, He will also be faithful to you. He will never let you go.
He will restore your injured and bruised heart. In the Bible, God promises: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV).Yes, God is passionate about the lost, about you, about me. For barren hearts, broken hearts, and bitter hearts, God sent His Son Jesus. God’s benevolent heart, His gracious and giving heart, comes to rescue, recover, and restore you to Himself. He loves it when precious things that are lost, are found! And your life matters to Him!
He wants you to be able to say with the writer of the Psalms, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalms 73:26 ESV). In Christ, I am found!
Jesus, your Savior, is passionate about finding the lost, about finding you! Won’t you come home to Him today? You’ll be glad you did, and the Father and all the angels in heaven, they’ll be overjoyed too! Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 10, 2013
Topic: I Can Forgive, But How Can I Forget?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. A listener says they’ve been hurt very deeply by someone. They can forgive them, but how do they forget and move on?
SELTZ: Mark, you can almost hear the pain in their words. Personal wounds are some of the most difficult struggles we face. The listener is gracious to offer forgiveness. The word “forgive” in the Bible means, literally, “to let go, to release.” When you do that with someone who has hurt you, there can be real reconciliation. And with that reconciliation, a person can often leave the hurt behind as well.
ANNOUNCER: And what if the person who hurt you doesn’t want to reconcile?
SELTZ: Well, that sure makes it harder to forgive and forget. But that’s when we especially need to rely on God’s grace. That’s when you release that wound to God’s care over and over again. You commend it to the Savior so it won’t haunt you and ruin your life.
ANNOUNCER: Do, in a sense, forgiving someone becomes a way of life. You release that hurt, refuse to harbor those destructive feelings; but, like you said, you need to do this over and over again.
SELTZ: We’ve got to remember that God nailed our sins to the cross with Jesus once, for all. He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. That’s what the Bible declares. We are also called to forgive one another as God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ. And just as God is saddened by our sin, we are saddened when others hurt us. For us, even when we forgive, then letting go of that pain becomes a journey, a process.
ANNOUNCER: It’s difficult to forget the hurt, isn’t it?
SELTZ: Right. We’re fallen people, broken people, that’s for sure. And, it is difficult to put what happened out of our thoughts and to move on. But part of not forgetting may mean we are also grieving. When someone hurts you and a relationship is broken, you will feel grief. And grief doesn’t disappear overnight–especially if it’s a close relationship that’s been shattered.
ANNOUNCER: What can you do, then, when you’re haunted by the memories of that hurt?
SELTZ: Well, Mark, there are three things that can really help. First, keep giving it to God. Keep praying and, as the Bible says, cast your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you. Heartbreak and hurt are burdens that are too big for us to handle. That’s why Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).
ANNOUNCER: We miss out on healing when we forget Jesus can carry our pain. In fact, He wants to.
SELTZ: Exactly. And, secondly, then, replace your pain with blessing. When anger or despair attack you, ask God to even bless that person who has hurt you. Thank God for bringing you this far. Praise God for His blessings in your life. Develop a habit of replacing the painful thoughts with blessing.
ANNOUNCER: Right. I can see how that might prevent you from getting caught up in the despair of painful memories. This sounds like a practice that will condition you, almost, to think differently.
SELTZ: Yeah, and that’s the way God wants you to think. Paul said in Romans, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14 ESV). This practice was not only for their good, but for ours. God doesn’t want the toxic impact of hurtful people to dominate your life. So you speak blessing. You remember God instead of those who hurt you.
ANNOUNCER: And the third practice?
SELTZ: In addition to giving it to God in prayer and speaking words of blessing, the way to forgive a deep hurt in your life is to wait on God. You need time. Use the time to draw close to Him, to read His Word and to speak to Him in prayer, but it will take time.
ANNOUNCER: The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of waiting. One favorite passage of many people is Isaiah chapter 40, which reads: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31 ESV).
SELTZ: I love that passage. Yes, we wait on God whose timing is always right. We wait for our Savior to help us and heal us. And even if we have to wait until Jesus comes again, we have the promise that the pain will be over, that, one day, we won’t even remember our hurt anymore. As we wait upon God, we wait with real, eternal hope.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Seltz. And with that we come to the end of our broadcast for another week. We thank you for making this program part of your day. We hope you’ll join us again next time. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“I Trust, O Christ, in You Alone” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“As Rebels, Lord, Who Foolishly Have Wandered” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Amazing Grace” by John Behnke. From For All Seasons, vol. 4 by John Behnke (© 2013 John A. Behnke) Concordia Publishing House