Finding the Lost

We have a wonderful parable told to us by our Lord Jesus while He was here on earth. It's a story we all know well, yet it never loses its sweetness and preciousness. It’s about a lost son. There were two sons, one of whom was lost. These two sons represent typical examples of humanity... (Luke 15:12) Without being content to wait for his father to die, the younger son asked for his share of the inheritance immediately to enjoy it in advance. The father complied and gave him what was supposed to be his. (Luke 15:13) There he could live the life he desired, independent of his father's will. So, as the Gospel tells us, he spent a short time in pleasures, until everything was gone and he found himself in dire need. "And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need." I am sure every soul, aware of its need for repentance, can say "I too have wandered far from God, and I too have wasted the good things He has given me." This young man was truly wrong in his attitude toward his father the moment he left his father’s house and went off to a far country. He did not want to be subject to his father; he wanted to go where he could live as he pleased. The father did not follow him. He did not insist that his son return, but allowed him to go and learn some lessons he might not learn in any other way. The day came when he had spent everything and found himself in dire straits. The friends he had made—where were they? They were his friends only when he had money. And when he lost everything in the end, those friends who were faithful in prosperity were not by his side; they left him in his extreme need. In his distress, and to avoid starving to death, he was forced to work at something he considered repulsive. (Luke 15:15) He was there among the filthy animals, feeding pigs, until he began to realize his folly. He could not eat the pig's food; he would have if he could. It is completely impossible for us who were created for eternity to find anything in the world that satisfies our souls. When this young man fell into distress, he did not know how to get out of it. That's when he "came to himself." This is a very important expression! Sin is terrible; it is extreme folly. This young man was suffering from intellectual error. And now he has returned to his senses. He began to realize, for the first time, the folly he had fallen into by leaving his father's house and trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment in a distant country. Many times in our lives, we experience such moments when we search for things that can be a source of satisfaction or happiness for us in this world, or we are still searching but have not been able to find anything. And even if we find, it will all be temporary things that cannot give us true happiness, because we are far from the source of true satisfaction (the loving Father). This young man returned to himself; he began to think. When a person starts to think, something will happen. Satan does his best to keep people from thinking. We know that Satan wants people to remain men and women far from facing the realities of life and realizing their true state before God. He wants people to remain distant from thinking and not realize the need for a Savior. When people start thinking, it is a step that leads them to salvation. This young man reached that point. He practically said, "What a fool I am! I have left my father's house and my home." (Luke 15:17-19) If anyone reading these lines is not saved, let him come to the same decision and say with the same intention in his heart, "I will arise; I will go and say to my father that I have sinned." The Bible says, "He sings among people and says, 'I have sinned and perverted the righteous, and it was not awarded to me. My soul is redeemed from passing to the pit, that it may see the light of life.'" (Job 33:27) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). That young man, feeling undeserving, decided in his heart what he would say. He was going to tell his father that he was not worthy to be called his son, and he would ask him to make him one of his hired servants. But before he arrived home, from a long distance, his father saw him, felt compassion, ran, embraced him, and kissed him. He didn't need to say all that. The father didn't wait to hear him say those words. He didn't wait for him to reach the house, but he saw him coming from afar, and said, "This is my son! I have been waiting for him all this time!" What a touching scene Jesus portrays for us. It is the image of God the Father. When the sinner returns to Him, He is there to meet him and welcome him. The poor boy began to speak, saying, "I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." That's all he could say; he didn't say more. The father joyfully exclaimed, "Bring the best robe and put it on him" - the best robe signifies Christ Himself, who is our complete righteousness before God. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).. "Put a ring on his hand" - the ring symbolizes endless love. "And sandals on his feet" - the sandals indicate behavior, to walk in the path of life. "Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace." (Ephesians 6:15). (Luke 15:23-24) When the father welcomes the lost sinner and says, "This my son was lost and is found," and they enter into fellowship together, then true joy begins and it continues forever. Amen.