If this is true what should we do?

In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables to drive home the central issue on the heart of God.

The Story of the Lost Sheep, Luke 15:1-7.

The Story of the Lost Coin, Luke 15:8-10.

The Story of the Lost Son, Luke 15:11-32.

Each were lost for a different reason: the sheep was just eating his greens and roamed away from the flock. The coin fell out of whatever was holding it and rolled away. The son wanted to “sow his wild oats” so he ran away. Jesus makes the point that whether than roamed away, rolled away, or ran away the Father’s response was always the same: turn all of your focus and attention on finding what has been lost.

Once while camping in Oregon our son, Benjamin, got lost. He and his sisters went to the restrooms that were next to our camp site. We told them, “Wait for one another, make sure you come back together.” When the girls came out they forgot about their little brother. They were only about six and seven years old. When they came into our camp site I asked them, “Where is your brother?” They gave me that “I don’t know” look. I ran over to the bathroom to find Ben. He was not there. Panic set in. The most horrific fear began to grip me: My little boy was missing.

At that moment everything became very focused. I did not look down at the other kids and say, “Well, thankfully we still have you guys. I am so glad we have more than just that one son that got lost.” No! At that moment everyone and everything in my life was measured by my desperate cry to reach my lost son.

We rallied everyone around us. We did not care about their doctrinal views, their legal standing, or if I would want to be buddy-buddies with them and enjoy good fellowship. I cared cared about one thing: I had to find my boy. From that moment forward everything in my life was being judged by “Are you helping me find my lost son?”

Thankfully, we soon found him. When he came out of the bathroom he turned right instead of left. When he realized he was lost he walked into the campsite of a family who had just sat down to eat lunch (even young and lost guys are still led by their stomachs).

This family immediately took care of him and started him on his journey back home to his family. I do not know their name but to this day they have my eternal gratitude because they took care of what was most precious to me.

This is the point Jesus is driving home when he talks about lost sheep, lost coins, and lost sons. That which is most precious to God has been lost and he is rallying everyone to His mission to recover what has been lost.

One of the unfortunate consequences of the chapter divisions that have been added to our Bibles is that it can cause us to think  because the chapter has change the point has changed. We can fall into this trap when it comes to Luke 15-16.

Luke 15 talks about lost sheep, coins, and sons. Luke 16 talks about lost priorities.

“He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.” (Luke 16:1 ESV)

Jesus is continuing his point about the priorities of God when he drives home the point that the disciples are never to waste their resources. The master’s resources are to be used on the master’s priorities.

As a Jesus follower, how should I respond to the Mission of God? How do I not “waste my master’s possessions?”

As a local church, how do we insure our ministries and our money righteously reflect the priorities of The Mission of God?

I cannot answer these questions for you. I can only try to answer them for myself.

I was delighted one day when talking with a pastor about these verses. We were doing the normal preacher thing of preaching to one another when I blurted out, “What if the local church focused one half of all it has and does on those outside itself?” Instantly I thought, “Dang! this pastor is going to think I am trying to get half the offering for missions.” I wasn’t. I was dreaming about what it would look like if a church devoted one half of its resources on the pastoral needs of the people of God and one half of its resources on the apostolic mission of reaching others with the Gospel.

I thought the conversation would come to a screeching halt, but it didn’t. The pastor said, “I want you to come to my church and preach that!”

What do you think would happen if…

If this is true, what should we do?