The One God Came For

Luke 15:4-7 (CEB) · The Gospel on Stage and Screen

“In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives.” — Luke 15:7 (CEB)

A hundred sheep. Ten coins. And in both stories, the one who is missing becomes the center of everything. Not because the others don’t matter, but because the lost one reveals the heart of the searcher. God’s love isn’t distributed evenly like a budget across line items. It rushes toward the gap, the absence, the empty space where someone should be.

You were found before you knew you were lost. You were pursued before you thought to turn around. You were celebrated before you could apologize. That’s the gospel Jesus preaches to the grumbling Pharisees, and it’s the gospel he preaches to you this morning.

You are not one of a hundred. You are the one God came for.

Seeking God, I am the one you came for. Thank you for a love that doesn’t wait for me to find my way back but meets me where I am. Amen.