We All Count

Luke 15:1-10
Jesus offers words of grace in our reading from Luke this morning, though for some, the grace may seem less obvious. “Just so, I tell you,” Jesus says, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). Jesus has just told the story of a lost sheep and of a shepherd willing to leave the flock of ninety-nine to go in search of it. The fact that the shepherd is the one looking, the one who goes about restoring those who are lost, helps us to better understand the “one sinner who repents.” God is the primary mover in relation to humanity. God is the one who is calling, seeking, claiming, guiding, judging, forgiving, restoring, and otherwise working out the divine will in our midst. But this is as true for the ninety-nine who have remained in the fold as it is for the lost sheep. None of us may claim a special relationship with God, none of us may assume we are more worthy of God’s love, because it is God who is at work in all cases.

So why bother to seek a right relationship with the Creator? If God is going to come looking anyway, why not take the opportunity to wander off and see what the world has to offer? That sort of temptation will always be there. In truth, we all do our share of wandering. Indeed, if we are honest with ourselves, we will recognize that we all take turns as the one who is lost, the one who needs to repent, the one who needs to be found while God remains steadfast and active, calling us home and claiming us when we get there. We all count to God––none more than another––which is why God goes looking for us in the first place and why there is joy in heaven when we are found.

Prayer: Almighty God, we ask your forgiveness for our sinful ways. Never leave us alone, O Lord, or we would be truly lost. In Jesus’ name. Amen.