It Comes Down to 1

You know how you read and study the Bible and think you understand it pretty well? And then someone offers an insight and you wonder how you could have missed it. In Eugene Peterson's latest book, "Tell It Slant", he points out that in the series of parables in Luke about the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son(s) there is an interesting progression. At the beginning of what we call chapter 15, tax collectors and sinners are drawing near to Jesus. In response to the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes about Jesus' willingness to receive sinners and even eat with them, Jesus tells 3 stories. In the first story, a man has 100 sheep. He loses 1, so he leaves the 99 to go find it. When it is found, he rejoices and invites others to join him in his rejoicing. The Pharisees and scribes could have missed the point of the story since the ratio of "lostness" is 1 out of 100. They tell themselves they certainly wouldn't be in that lost group.

The second story is about a woman with 10 coins. She loses 1. She seeks diligently for the coin. When it is found, she rejoices and invites others to join her in rejoicing. The Pharisees could have missed the point of the story since the ratio of "lostness" is 1 out of 10. They tell themselves they certainly wouldn't be in that lost group.

The third story is about a man who had 2 sons. He loses 1. He waits patiently for that 1 son to return. When the son returns, he rejoices and invites others to join him in rejoicing. The Pharisees could have missed the point of the story since the ratio of "lostness" is 1 out of 2. They tell themselves they certainly wouldn't be in that lost group.

The final part of the third story is about the prodigal's brother. The father loses the 1 son he still had at home. He wants that son to join in the celebration of finding his lost brother. The son refuses and is lost to the father. The ratio of "lostness" in this part of the story is 1 out of 1. Could the Pharisees have failed to see that when it comes down to it, we are all lost. Some of us are just more respectably lost. We haven't been eating with the pigs, but we are lost just the same. We all need to be found. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Which includes me. And you. And when we recognize our lostness and come home to the Father, we are rejoiced over by the One who loves us most.

My prayer is that all who read this blog will be reconciled to the Father, through his son, Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no other. God has done all that is necessary for us to return to Him. Our part is to respond, by faith, to the free gift of life provided for us by Jesus dying in our place. God could justly judge us for our sin. Instead He placed our sin on Jesus who, because he was perfect, had no sins of his own to pay for. Because Jesus was infinitely perfect, he could infinitely pay for our sin. God's holiness and justice were satisfied by Jesus' sacrifice of himself in our place. While the satisfaction is sufficient for all, it is effective only for those who reject any attempt to make themselves right with God and, instead, embrace what God has done for them in Jesus Christ.

If this concept is new to you, ask a Christian you know to explain it further. They'd love to tell you the story of Jesus and answer your questions. Remember the ratio of "lostness" is 1 out of 1.