Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Luke 15

IDEA: People can get lost in many different ways, but all are precious to God.

PURPOSE: To give listeners an appreciation for who “lost” people are and how they got that way.

Does it make any difference how we talk about people who are not Christians? What difference does it make?

One way we have of speaking about people who are not believers is that they are “lost.” That description comes from the stories Jesus told in Luke 15 - about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost boys.

Read Luke 15 in your Bible.

As we look at those stories, do they give us any leads on how people get “lost”?

How do sheep get lost? Thoughtlessly and unintentionally. Many people are like sheep in that way. They don’t abandon their convictions deliberately or maliciously. They drift away carelessly.

How did the coin get lost? It didn’t get lost by itself. There are those who, while morally responsible, are more sinned against than sinning. We can contribute to the lostness of other people.

How did the younger boy get lost? He was determined to live his own life. He left home because it suited him to do so. While he probably didn’t want to hurt his father, he wanted no controls on his life. He was self-pleasing.

How did the older boy get lost? He did the respectable thing, not because he loved his father, but because it paid. One may please himself and end in want; another may please himself and end in wealth, but the cause is the same.