Read: Read Luke 15:1-3, and reflect on the reason Jesus told these parables.

Then, read the two parables in Luke 15:4-10

Imagine who may have been in the crowd when this interaction was taking place. Pharisees, disciples, sinners? How might each have responded to the Pharisee’s statements, and to Jesus’ parables?

Reflect: About 10 years ago, we moved. In order to leave the old house, we needed to take care of a 2,000 gallon heating oil tank that was buried in the yard. The plan was to dig down to the top of it, cut it open, remove the leftover oil, and fill it with gravel. So, step 1 was to get my shovel out, and dig a hole - a very big hole - in the yard. Knowing that I was likely to develop a blister on my hand from digging with my wedding ring on, I took it off and put it in my pocket. Then I began digging. And digging. Several hours later, I had a hole in the yard, and a giant pile of dirt next to it. I washed my hands and reached into my pocket to put my wedding ring back on. Except, it wasn’t there. My stomach dropped. I had lost my wedding ring! The symbol of my marriage, a beautiful token of my wife’s love that she put on my hand on our wedding day, was gone.

Over the next two days, my wife and I spent a significant amount of time searching the bottom of the hole, and sifting through the pile of dirt TWICE, one careful handful at a time. It took hours - more hours than digging the hole took. We didn’t find it. 

Hope was beginning to wane. 

My neighbor, finding out about our search, offered his metal detector. A short crash course in metal detecting later, I was sweeping the back yard. BEEP BEEP. I held my breath. Pulled the grass back. And there was a glint of gold. I had found my wedding ring. 

It’s hard to exaggerate the level of elation I felt at finding this thing that was so important to me that I had lost. We hugged and heaved sighs of relief and then went out to dinner to celebrate. “Rejoice with me, I have found my lost wedding ring!”

At the end of each parable, there is a celebration when what was lost is found.

On a scale of 1-5, how excited do you get when you hear that someone has accepted Christ and decided to follow him? How might you increase that number?The point of the parables is that God actively pursues all people with relentless love. Do you view God as pursuing you actively? Why or why not? 

How might the “non-disciples” in your life respond if you could convey the idea that God is pursuing them actively?

Respond: God actively searches for the lost. Think of a person in your life who is lost and needs to be found by God - maybe it’s a friend, coworker, or family member. If many people come to mind, spend some time in silence listening for the Holy Spirit to bring your focus to one specific person.

Spend some time praying that God would show you one concrete way you can join him in “loving pursuit” of that person. Do not make this a quick prayer! It may help to clearly picture this person and imagine Jesus pursuing them.

Finally, take some time in silence to listen to God for an answer. What is your role in Jesus’ loving pursuit of that person? When the Holy Spirit brings something to mind, write it down, and commit yourself to doing it.