i.
Suppose one of you had a hundred cute little monkeys, but you lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine cute little monkeys in a safe place and go after the lost one until you found it? When it was found, you would put it on your shoulder or carry it in your arms rejoicing. When you get home you would call your friends and neighbors saying, “Celebrate with me! I’ve found my cute little lost monkey!”
Count on it - there’s more joy in Heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
ii.
Imagine a girl who has ten useful keys, but loses one. Won’t she get a flashlight and look all over her house, moving furniture, sweeping the floor, rearranging the junk drawer, even dusting the bookshelf, all in one big crazy attempt to find it? And when she finds it, she’s going to tell her friends, and even put it on her social media platform of choice, saying, “Let’s celebrate! I found my lost key!”
You can count on it - that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.
iii.
You know, there once was a man who had two kids. He owned a large cattle ranch, and was doing pretty good. Until one day his youngest kid says to him, “Dad, I know that when you and mom die, all your stuff is going 50/50 between my brother and I. Any chance I could get my share now?”
What a crushing blow! But the dad agrees to do it. He sells half the ranch, and gives the money straight up to his youngest. The kid, barely even saying ‘Thanks’, packs a bag, cashes the cheque, and is gone. Making a new life in the big city, the kid lives the dream.
No one to tell him what to do, no one to slow him down. He lives it up.
He rents a sweet apartment, makes a few new friends, and parties like there’s no tomorrow. With no parents, he is literally eating bacon and cake for breakfast, and Starbucks on the daily. He gets a girlfriend… a 10.5. He buys a sweet car, a Yenko Camaro. So fast. So furious. He is living the good, good life, when all of a sudden, the economy tanks.
Rent goes up. Payments go up.
He suddenly realizes that he’s quickly running out of money, has no job, and had never even thought about the future, let alone planned for it. He can’t find a job, ‘cause times are hard. He defaults on his rent and gets evicted. When they realize that he’s out of money, his new friends are suddenly a.w.o.l.
The bank repossesses his car. He begins to get hungry. His girlfriend, to her credit, doesn’t break up with him, so there’s that. No, she doesn’t break up with him at all. Instead, she just… vanishes… ghosts… gone without a trace. Suddenly, almost without warning, the kid is out on the streets begging for leftovers.
One day, two days, three days with no food. Things begin to get desperate. Finally, somebody driving by notices his pitiful state and has compassion. The guy’s from out of town, on a pig farm. Offers the kid a job feeding pigs. It’s not much, but it’s enough to stay alive… barely.
Weeks go by. The pigs smell so bad. They’re vicious, a bit wild, and he hates it. He hates his job, he hates the pigs. He’s starving. He hates his whole life. He’s so hungry that he briefly even considers eating some of the extra pig food when nobody’s looking when suddenly he has a thought. Somehow through the fog of his extreme hunger and fatigue, he has a brief moment of clarity.
Even his dad’s lowest level ranch hands get paid more than this. Plus, if he remembered right, there always used to be fresh fruit, muffins, and hot drinks in the barn for the hired guys. He’s so hungry, that even the thought of that stuff begins to make him cry. He’s embarrassed, but he can’t stop himself. He cries so hard that he has to sit down beside the pig fence and just let it all out.
When he’s finished, and there’s no more tears to fall, he picks himself up, walks past the farmhouse, down the driveway and past the old gate, sticks out his thumb, and with a hopeful heart, that maybe… just maybe his dad will take him on as a laborer… he hitches a ride home.
When he gets there, the driver drops him off at end of the long driveway. For a second, the kid almost gets back in the car. He has no right to be here after what he did to his family. But he’s pretty much out of options. And besides, what’s the worst that could happen? His dad would say no? Call the cops on him for trespassing? Hits him? Couldn’t be any worse that the life he had back on the pig farm.
And so he opens the gate, and, rehearsing the speech in his head, he begins to walk down the long driveway towards his parent’s house. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him through the kitchen window. Heart pounding with joy, the dad runs out the door, down the front steps, and down the driveway towards the kid, as fast as his feet will carry him.
When he reaches the kid, he hugs him so tight and tears of joy in his eyes, he kisses him right on his dirty, grimy cheek. The kid, shrinking away, tries to tell him, “Dad, I’ve totally messed up. I’ve hurt God and I’ve hurt you and I’ve hurt mom, and I’ve really just wrecked everything. I know I’ll never be your son again, but … is there any chance you might hire me on as one of your laborers?”
His dad’s not even listening. He’s hollering at one of the ranch hands to kill the big fat turkey. He’s shouting, “Invite the neighbors! Call the family! There’s gonna be a feast tonight!”
Meantime, mom’s in the house grabbing some fresh clean clothes, and an extra pair of boots. Dad gives him the keys to his truck… and the house.
“You’re back! I’m so glad you’re back! I knew you’d come home. I just knew it. I’m so glad you’re back, kid.”
That evening, when everyone else is eating together, dad notices that older brother’s looking a bit cranky, so he goes out on the porch to chat with him.
Brother says, “Dad, I’ve been here the whole time, and have you ever thrown me a party like this? Yet the kid goes off, spends all your money on complete garbage, and you go all out on this feast. What gives?”
The dad, looking off into the distance, thinks about it for a minute, and putting his arm around his oldest, he says “Buddy, you’re not seeing this clearly right now. You’ve been with me this entire time. Literally everything you’re looking at is going to be yours one day.
But this… this is such an amazing moment right here, right now. The kid… he was dead, son. But now he’s alive again! The kid… he was so lost. But now he’s found!”
In the same way, when even one person that is lost comes back to Jesus, all of Heaven throws a party. It's a party that you really want to be at.
______________________
Adapted from Luke 15 and from Wednesday Chapel at P.C.S.
And yes, I did lose something this week. Haven't found it yet, but when I do, there will be some serious rejoicing.
ii. Photo by kaboompics .com from Pexels
iii. Photo by Any Lane from Pexels