January 9, 2024

Read the opening scripture of Luke 15 again. Now ask yourself this question. “Why?” Why would people who knew they were not right with God seek to be around Him? Why would the most unrighteous people, “notorious sinners,” feel comfortable in the presence of the Most Righteous One? It seems so contradictory. But it’s a scenario that played out again and again in the gospels. And it’s an important one for us to understand. Because if we don’t understand Jesus’ heart for lost people and His attitude toward them, we won’t grasp the power and impact of these parables.
Lost people matter MOST to God. I want to say that again. Lost people matter MOST to God. It was because the world was lost that God sent His One and Only Son. Jesus stated it again and again in His ministry. “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor. Sick people do.” “I’ve not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” “The Son of Man has come to seek and save those who are lost.” Jesus didn’t come to help good people get better. He came to help dead people find LIFE. He came to help awful people discover how awesome they can be. He came to take those who were the worst of sinners, like Paul, and make them the most well-known saints.
So how did Jesus do that? Why was He so appealing to people far from God? He reminded people that God loved them—no matter who they were, what they had done, or what other people thought of them. He treated them like treasures that were just waiting to be uncovered instead of like trash that just needed to be discarded. He cared for their personal needs and offered them healing, comfort, and empathy. He treated them like they were precious creations of God. As He opened His life and heart to them, many of them opened their hearts and lives to Him. Maybe, when we treat people far from God as “lost” children instead of “bad” children, they will do the same to us. That’s God’s Word for you today.