For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Luke 19:10

When I was a kid, I lost my backpack on a bus. It held some clothing and all my money, about $10. When I discovered it was gone, I was distraught. I cried as we searched all around us. My dad said he would replace the money, which only pained me more because I knew he didn’t have much either. Imagine my relief when a passenger discovered that my backpack had slid under the seats up to the front of the bus!

Jesus told several parables about the intensity of feeling that comes with losing even a small item. Jesus likens the value we place on what matters most to us with the measure of His love for us. In one parable, a woman swept her entire house carefully in search of her lost coin. When she recovered it, she shouted to her friends, “rejoice with me!” (Luke 15:9). That’s how Jesus rejoices when one person who was lost to sin repents.

What a relief and joy when something you’d lost is restored to you! Whether it was of immense or miniscule monetary value is irrelevant. You may see yourself with little or great importance, but God sees you as infinitely valuable. If you are lost, He lifts mountains and parts the sky to find you and bring you home. He stops at nothing to restore you, saying “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

 

Resource reading: Luke 15:1-32