As I study this morning on the word “find(s)” I am brought to the parable of the lost sheep that Jesus tells to the tax collectors, sinners, Phaisees, and scribes.
“3So he told them this parable: ‘4What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’” – Luke 15:3-7 (ESV)
What I see this morning is the words used by Jesus to describe the reactions and emotion of the shepherd at finding the sheep. Notice that it is not celebration, but rather joy. The shepherd is joyful at the finding of the one sheep and calls on others to have joy with him. And this of course translates to the joy in heaven when one sinner repents.
I know what you might be thinking, “well isn’t there a celebration that the shepherd calls people to?”. Yes, you are right, there is a celebration, but that celebration is defined as an occasion of rejoicing, not simple celebration. There is a permanence to the joy and not a fleeting party. Parties come and go, but rejoicing is more long standing. Like a wedding, we attend to rejoice in the union that is to last and the reception comes later.
The LORD is out looking for His lost sheep, us. He is searching everywhere and exhaustingly so to find us and bring us into the family. Even as there are so many that have yet to be found, when one is, He rejoices and calls on others to rejoice with Him. We rejoice at the finding of just one and at the next and the next. The reunion of the lost with God is to be rejoiced.
What is your reaction and emotion when finding? Are you set out to celebrate and move on? What if you took time to rejoice at the reunion as God rejoices when the one is found?
