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Feeling the Joy of God’s Presence
Luke 15:1-10
Where do you find joy in your relationship with God? Is it listening to special music at worship? Is it sharing in communion? Is it at the birth of a child? Is it in finding something you have lost for a long time?
The two parables in these verses are about finding something that is lost. At the time of Jesus, owning a hundred sheep was a sign of prosperity. These sheep were often kept for eight to nine years for their wool. The shepherd would always walk ahead of the sheep to scout out danger. The shepherd cared about all the sheep. If one was lost, it was important to find it.
We have all probably had valuable coins. When I was a boy, my dad collected coins... not because they would be considered financially valuable, but just because he liked them. He collected the J.F.K. fifty-cent pieces and the silver dollar coins. And then he gave them to me. They were valuable to me because they were my dad’s coins. During one of my many moves, I couldn’t find these coins. I searched and searched for them and -when I finally found them- I experienced great joy in finding what I had lost.
A key word in each of these stories is “lost”. Have you ever felt lost in your relationship with God? I remember when I was a young air force recruit traveling alone to my first assignment in Greece. My family wasn’t with me, and I was lonely. Yes I made new friends - but those friends I valued the most were the ones that I met in the chapel. Fellow Christians of many different denominations. It was comforting to find a place where I could worship God with other people of faith. I was alone and “feeling lost” - but I “found” the hope, comfort, and joy of God’s love through my new friends in Christ. May you find that same joy in being “found” in God’s love!
Let us pray:
Prayer for December-January 2013
Gracious God, there are times when we feel lost - in a dark place, separated from your love. Help us to trust that you are there with us even in those dark times, and help us find you in the care of others, in the kind word of a stranger, in the healing breath of your Spirit in the wind. Remind us that you are our God and we are your beloved children. May we find joy in being found, and share the joy of your love with others, so they too may find you. Amen.
Taken from Stepping Stones of a Steward by Ron Vallet (Eerdsmans Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI © 1989
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