During our Spokane Youth Rally this past weekend, the featured speaker (Arron Chambers, Journey Christian Church, Greeley, CO) shared about a frightening experience he had many years ago, when his young son was lost at Sea World in Florida. His incredibly powerful point was that during this time of severe distress, while frantically searching for his son, it never once occurred to him that he had three other children who were not lost. He never said something like, “it’s fine if I lose one child; I still have three others.”
This example gets to the heart of what we read in Luke 15:11-32, a passage widely known as the “Parable of the Lost Son.” In the parable, the younger of two sons asks his father for his share of the estate, which basically means he’s telling his dad, “hey, I need you to be dead, but since you’re not, give me my inheritance now.” The father obliged and the son proceeded to squander his wealth in wild living. He finally came to his senses and decided to go back home to his father and acknowledge his terrible actions.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. The son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But instead of getting angry or seeking revenge, the father threw a huge party and celebrated the return of his son.
The older son witnessed this celebration, found out why they were partying, and became angry, refusing to go in and join the festivities. He couldn’t believe that his dad would celebrate the return of his younger brother, who squandered everything his father had given him. To this, the father replied, “‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Just as Arron (our youth rally speaker) discovered, it didn’t even occur to this father that he had another son who was not lost. What mattered to him was that the lost son was now found. What a picture of our Father God, who frantically searches for lost people and celebrates when they are found. May we not only appreciate this amazing quality of God, but also demonstrate the same type of love to people in this world who need nothing more than to find their way back to God, no matter how lost and far away they are from Him.
Troy Burns