Three and a Half Stories - Lost

Ever been lost?  I remember when I came back from Bangladesh as a student missionary.  I arrived in Seattle and there was no one to greet me.  I called my sister who lived in Walla Walla and something had come up and they couldn’t meet me.  I was out of cash, had no credit cards and told her I would hitchhike home.  I admit that I was a little grumpy about finally being back on US soil with no welcoming party.  With literally my last dime (yes, back then there were still pay phones and they cost 10 cents), I called a college friend in Seattle.  She picked me up at the airport and the next day we spent all day on Lake Washington with her dad on their boat and had a great time. By the way, I had never called my sister to let her know; as far as she knew I was hitching back.  

My friend loaned me money for bus fare back to Walla Walla the next day and I spent most of the day on Greyhound stopping at little towns and meeting interesting people.  When I arrived in Walla Walla, I was still disgruntled, so instead of calling my sister to come pick me up, I just put on my backpack and started hiking the four miles to College Place.  As I was walking beside the road, a car honked and pulled in by me. It was my sister.  Turns out they were frantic with worry and had called the police who had put out an APB on me.  As far as they knew I was lost and they were doing everything they could to find me.

To be “lost,” according to Webster, is “no longer to be found; misplaced; having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place or direction; no longer belonging to; no longer possible or open to…”  With cell phones and GPS systems, it is harder to get physically lost.  But have you ever felt lost in this life?  Not sure where you are going?  Not sure if God cares?

You know, stories are enormously powerful.  Just stay up late enough on any night and you will see an infomercial filled with little stories told by people about how a particular product changed their life.  If you watch enough of these stories, you might find yourself dialing a number and buying a food vacuum sealer like I did at 3:40 a.m. one Sunday morning.  I finally sold it on eBay after years of disuse.

Jesus knew the power of stories to illustrate or drive home a point.  He used parables extensively.

In Luke 15, Jesus uses three and a half stories to give us a picture of how God relates to people.

First, the context.  In Luke 15:1 & 2 it is noted that tax collectors, who were "notorioiusly and especially wicked sinners," were all coming to Jesus to listen to him.  Also the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and complaining saying, "This man accepts and receives and welcomes sinners and eats with them."  Aagh!  So, Jesus was speaking to two distinct groups; both the unsaved and those who thought they were just hunky-dory with God and had disdain for "sinners."

I'll post a few discussions and we'll talk about these stories.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

- Pastor Sid