Lutheran Daily Devotional 9 September 2022 || Friday Message By Lutheran Hour Ministries
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TOPIC: Lost and Found
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:1-10 – Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
With these two stories, Jesus reveals the heart of God. God knows how it feels when you lose the people you love. Just read the first three chapters of Genesis. And more revealing than Adam and Eve’s stitched fig leaves, Jesus reveals that God is no stranger to loss.
But Jesus has sewn in an unusual thread with His stories. The way He describes how the loss took place is unusual. In polite company, when something valuable got lost, you’d say it like that—it got lost. “That sheep got itself lost, again.” Or you might say, “Now, where did my keys disappear to?” We blame the thing that got lost. But Jesus puts the responsibility on the character in the story.
He says, “a man loses his sheep, a woman loses her coin.” On one level, He may be accusing the religious insiders. They have lost the people—people like the tax collectors and other excluded sinners. But, on a deeper level, Jesus reveals that the real actor in each story is God.
Jesus brings God into the story, because He came to bring God into the world. God takes responsibility for the loss and for the finding. When Jesus was crucified, when it looked like He had lost everything and everyone—that’s where God did His best work.
With Jesus telling the story, there is no doubt that the central actor has the skill and the will to make it work. The shepherd is decisive. His mission is urgent because he knows the sheep won’t last long on its own. So, he marshals his hard-fought wilderness experience to find that lost sheep. And as sure as Jesus is risen from the dead, there is no doubt the shepherd has the skill and the will to make this rescue mission work. And with the woman in the house, there is even more certainty that she will find that coin.
She knows every crack in the floorboards and every crevice in the walls. That house is her domain. She is master of it, as Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. That coin in her domain has zero chance of staying lost. In these characters, Jesus shows us what God is like. He finds the lost. It’s only a matter of time.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, thank You for finding me when I was lost. Show me how You are already at work to bring other lost ones home, so that I may in some way work with You. Amen.
Lutheran Daily Devotional 9 September 2022 Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
- How is the loss of a possession similar to and different from the loss of a relationship?
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Notice how Jesus describes “repentance” (the act of changing one’s mind or turning around) as being acted upon (found, picked up, carried home). How have you personally experienced repentance from both perspectives—something you do, and something done to/for you?
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Jesus takes full responsibility to do the finding—how does that effect the way you talk to Him about people who are lost from Him?
Today’s Bible Readings: Isaiah 5-6 2 Corinthians 13
Lutheran Daily Devotional 9 September 2022 from LHM will help strengthen and encourage your faith as you do the same for others. Have them delivered right to your inbox, podcast the audio devotional, access them on your mobile device through the FREE app, or listen with Spotify, iHeart Radio, Alexa, or Google Home. Seasonal Devotions for Advent and Lent are also available in both English and Spanish. Perfect for personal reflection or to share with family, friends and congregations, these seasonal meditations will help prepare you to celebrate the true meaning of these seasons. Lutheran Daily Devotional 9 September 2022
