A few years ago, I found
myself turning the whole house inside out looking for something that was very
valuable to me … my wedding ring. I remember quite vividly the panic that gripped
every fibre of my being. Not because of its monetary value but rather what the
ring represented. The gold value was meaningless to me but the bond, the love,
the union that ring represented meant a lot to me. Eventually, I found it in
the most obvious place of course, but I still remember the relief and the joy
of finding it…
In the first parable (Luke
15:1ff) we need to see God as the primary mover in salvation. The Shepherd who
represents Christ does not wait for the lost sheep to find its way back but
actively seeks her out. The wandering sheep is helpless and unable to return,
and this highlights the spiritual condition of all fallen humanity. We can see
that it’s not about the value of the sheep itself, but rather the value that
the Shepherd puts on it, hence the relentless pursuing.
The second parable (Luke
15:1ff) has a similar meaning where the woman who had 10 silver coins but lost
one, lights a candle and diligently looks for it until she finds it…It is God
who brings light into our darkness and does not stop until the lost is found.
In the third parable (Luke
15:1ff), the son is not just lost like in the previous parables but rebellious,
he despised his father and house he lived in, and once away from home wastes
his inheritance, tarnishes his name and is brought to ruin. While eating with
the pigs he comes to his senses, realises his unworthiness, and begins his
journey back home.
It is the work of God the
Father through the Holy Spirit that awakens us to the reality of our shameful
and desperate condition. It is at that point that we begin to see clearly what
the Father has for us.
What we see in the Father‘s
reaction to his son’s return is the Gospel itself.
While his son is still far
away, the father sees him, runs to him, embrace him, gives him a robe, a ring,
and a party -like nothing happened. The undeserving is welcomed home not as a
servant but as a son!
And that is the Gospel!
John
Stoici