Greg Ruble is lead pastor of Living Streams Community Church in McCordsville.
The other day I was heading out to a meeting and running late. I hate being late, and I couldn’t find my keys.
As the minutes ticked by, I started to panic as I frantically searched. A few moments later, they appeared (right where I left them) and I got on my way.
Lost and found stories are always stories of agony and ecstasy — the pain when something is lost, the joy when it gets found. Jesus told some lost and found stories in Luke 15. They were about a lost sheep, lost coin and lost son.
The first two tell about a search and rescue operation by the owners. After they find their lost sheep and coin, they throw a party. Jesus says heaven does the same when just one person comes back to God.
I love the message we get from that. Everyone is important to God. Sheep and coins and keys still get lost, and so do people.
Jesus’ story about the lost son still speaks to our hearts. A man had two sons. The younger told his dad, “I wish you were dead, I want my inheritance now, I’m leaving.” The father fulfilled his son’s wishes and let him go.
This son went far away and spent everything on wild living. When the money was gone, he was left alone and thinking about eating pig slop. He thought about home and concocted a plan to get back in the door. “Nobody is hungry at home. I’ll go back and tell Dad, ‘I’m not worthy to be your son, let me work off what I owe as one of your hired hands.’”
Meanwhile, the father would spend his days looking up and down the road for signs of his son. One day, he appeared off in the distance. Dad couldn’t help himself and took off, running toward him.
All the neighbors saw him and followed to see why this distinguished older man would lower himself to run through the neighborhood. He would’ve had to lift his robe, baring his legs to do that. Disgraceful!
When Dad reached his son, amid a crowd, he gave him a huge bear hug and kissed his face. The son started his speech, “Dad, I’m not worthy to be your son…”
But Dad wouldn’t let him finish. “Put new clothes on him, give him the family ring, make a feast — we need to throw a party! My son who was dead is alive again, he was lost and is now found.”
People get lost, but our heavenly Father is calling them back to Himself. What happens if they come? No working to make things right, but an embrace of love and a forgiveness bought by the blood of His son Jesus.
Take heart from this lost and found story. If you’re feeling far away from God, turn toward home. He’s looking for you, and what you’ll receive from Him is love and grace that will change your life. People get lost, but Jesus has made the way for us to be found. It’s time to come home.
Greg Ruble is lead pastor of Living Streams Community Church in McCordsville. This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
