Luke 15
Who hasn't sat mesmerized by the fascinating television documentaries on undersea search-and-recovery efforts? Miles below the surface of the ocean, submersible vessels are guided gingerly along the ocean floor looking for a long-lost ship. Perhaps it is the British luxury liner Titanic, found in 1985 in 12,500 feet of water off the coast of Newfoundland. Or the American aircraft carrier Yorktown, discovered in 1998 at a depth of 16,650 feet near the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Robert Ballard, the famous undersea search expert, knows no greater joy than when, after weeks of combing the vast undersea canyons and plains, his sonar and video reveals silent, massive shapes on the sea floor. No one searches for anything with more passion and intensity—and no one rejoices more exuberantly at the finding—than Ballard and his crew. No one, that is, except God.
Just as finding the object of an undersea search is what makes Robert Ballard most happy, there is one thing that makes God most happy—when one of his lost children is found. Christ told three parables that illustrate how heaven rejoices when that which is lost is found. First, a shepherd leaves all the rest of his sheep and goes to find the one that has wandered away. He calls his friends to rejoice when the lost sheep is found. Second, a woman loses a coin in her house but does not rest until it is found. Likewise, she rejoices with her friends at her good fortune. Finally, a father regains the son who was lost, showing the greatest love of all. Even when the son willfully chose to “lose himself” through rebellion, the father still rejoices when he returns home and is “found.” As in all these instances, Christ said, heaven rejoices when one sinner repents and is found.
It is the nature of man to search, but it is the nature of God to search, find, and rejoice. Have you been found by God? If so, heaven rejoices with you. If your heavenly Father is still seeking you, consider “being found.” Give heaven, and yourself, cause for rejoicing.
God’s Promise to You: “I never grow tired of searching for that which is mine.”
