If you had to select a list of the greatest chapters in the Bible you would surely include this chapter. Besides giving us the story of the Prodigal Son, this chapter gives us a clear picture of what the Bible is all about. Man had become separated from God by sin. But God in love and grace gave his Son so that man could be brought back to him. God rejoices over each sinner who returns to him. That is what these stories illustrate. (The story of the lost sheep is found in verses 4 - 7, the lost coin in verses 8 - 10.) The sheep was lost to safety through its own stupidly and stubbornness. The coin was lost to usefulness through someone's carelessness. The son was lost to fellowship through his own willfulness. But each was found. Everyone rejoiced over the finding of the lost son except the older brother. How many boys were really lost in that story? One or two? The older brother never life home, but it seems he was far away from the father's loving heart. He was in the fields when he should have been at the feast. Notice his harsh words in verses 29 - 31. How does that story end? Do you think the father's gracious words melted the older brother's hard heart? Did he find real fellowship at the table with his father which perhaps they had not known for many months? Can you find yourself in any of these stories? Who is doing the shepherd's work of finding lost sheep today? It's our responsibility, isn't it? Are we doing it or are we just enjoying our own safety and security? REMEMBER: Christ has no hands but our hands to do his work today.
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