These parable's are amazing in what they say to us as believers and followers of Christ. The first parable, the parable of the lost sheep, talks of a shepherd that loses one sheep, and how he leaves the other 99 sheep to go and find the one he lost. When he finds the sheep, he rejoices and celebrates the return of his lost. It goes on to say “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

The next parable tells of a woman that loses a coin. She sweeps the house and searches diligently UNTIL she finds it. When she does find it, she calls her friends together to rejoice and celebrate the finding of the one lost coin. This seems simple, but it is profound when you look at what it contains, and what it does not contain. It never says in this parable anywhere how many coins she has. Jesus is trying to stress the importance of the individual here. It doesn't matter if it were a million people or just one person that would have accepted the gift given of Jesus at the cross, He would have done it anyway. If it was just you, or just me He would have still payed the cost he payed. Amazing.

The last parable is about a father and two sons. The younger son takes his inheritance early and squanders it away to nothing in a foreign land. Then he realizes that his fathers servants have more than he does, and that he has made a big mistake. It wasn't that this young man was bad or evil, he was lost. he made a miscalculation and ended up where many of us often end up when we try to take control of what was never ours to begin with. He finally realizes what he has done and comes back to his father in humility and asking for forgiveness. His father not only forgives him, but honors him in an incredible way. Not only that, but he never even questioned or judged his son from the beginning. He gave him the freedom to do what he wanted, which is a symbol of how God allowed Adam and Eve the free will to choose the sin they chose. It is not the nature of love to force a relationship or anything, it is love's nature to open the door for the choice to be made. When the father did all of this for His son, the brother was jealous and angry. Luke 15:31-32 complete this in a monumental way.

31. “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

We as Christians are already in Jesus, and He is in us. All that He has is ours for choosing to accept it. Our obedience to His word is a reflection of the internal transformation that was made when we were saved by Him. Now that we are in Him, we are now under a mandate from God Himself. These three parables make the point very clear in every way. On this earth, we either need to be accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, and if we have already done that, we absolutely need to be a part of getting the rest of the lost to Jesus. Each and every one we have a chance to love.

Luke 15:1-32