Luke 15:6-7 (NKJV) “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ” I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
God wants His creation to know Him. He searches out for us to know Him, commune with Him and worship Him. Yet, God also gives us free will to accept or reject Him. His heart though remains the same.
In the whole passage in Luke 15:1-32, Jesus used three examples to stress the importance of saving souls and to show the heart of our Father.
In the first example, Jesus talked about something familiar to many of the Jews at that time – a parable of a shepherd losing one sheep from his flock of one hundred. Would the shepherd abandon the one lost sheep since he still has so many more? Each one of the sheep belongs to the shepherd and to lose any would just be unthinkable. All the more for our Heavenly Father, who created every precious human being to be called His child. This is the Heart of our Father. Even as earthly parents, we will use all means to locate our lost child and rejoice when he or she is found. Likewise, all heaven rejoices when another soul is saved for eternity.
In another analogy, Jesus talked about a woman whose prized possessions are ten silver coins. When one was lost, she scoured every corner of her home, looking for that lost coin. Similarly to the first example, the elation was great when the lost coin was finally found. She even went around to her friends and neighbors to share the good news. In the same way, our Heavenly Father will search all corners to find every lost soul and His heart rejoices when a soul is saved.
In the third example, when the prodigal son willfully asked for his inheritance before the death of his father, the father respected his free will and gave him the share of his inheritance. However, the son squandered all that he had with bad choices and finally decided to return home to ask to work as a servant.
What is amazing about this story is that the father had never stopped hoping for the return of this child. When he spotted his son a great distance from home, he ran towards him and hugged him. The love this father had for his son did not diminish since the day the inheritance was divided. There was no grudge, no punishment, in fact, the father even instantaneously presented his best to his long-lost son.
This is the heart of our Father. He loves each and every one of us so dearly that he longs for us to repent and return to Him. Regardless of what wrongs we have done, He is eagerly yearning to forgive us and embrace us back into his family as His child. But he never forces, he never imposes. He gives us freewill to choose for ourselves, even though it grieves Him when we choose to go our own way and squander away what He has given us. Although He has many children, every single one of us is dear to Him and He searches out for us and rejoices greatly when another soul is saved.
Do we have the same heart like our Heavenly Father for the lost? If saving one lost soul is so important to God, should it not matter to us, too? Will you speak to someone so that he or she so they can once again be called a child of God and return to the arms of the Father and be saved for eternity? Therefore, let us feel love for the unsaved with the same heart as our Heavenly Father and share the gospel today.
Sermon Series: Evangelism
天父的心
路加福音 15:6-7 就请朋友邻舍来，对他们说：‘我失去的羊已经找着了，你们和我一同欢喜吧！’我告诉你们：一个罪人悔改，在天上也要这样为他欢喜，较比为九十九个不用悔改的义人欢喜更大。
上帝要祂的创造物认识祂。祂寻找我们，让我们认识祂、与祂交谈、敬拜祂。与此同时，祂也给予我们自由意识去接受或拒绝祂。祂的心意保持不变。
在路加福音 15:1-32 整段经文中，耶稣用三个例子来强调拯救灵魂的重要性及显示我们的天父的心肠。
在第一个例子中，耶稣提到当时许多犹太人所熟悉的事—一个牧羊人在他的一百只羊群中，有一只羊走失的比喻。牧羊人会因为他还有这么多只羊而放弃那只走失的羊吗？每只羊都是属于牧羊人的，而丢失任何一只对他来说是难以想象的，更何况是我们的天父。祂创造了每个宝贵的人被称为祂的孩子。这就是我们天父的心肠。即使是地上的父母，我们会用尽所有的办法来寻找失踪的孩子，找着了就欢喜快乐。同样的，当一个灵魂得到拯救进入永生里，整个天堂都欢喜快乐。
在另一个比喻中，耶稣说到一个妇人有十个银铜板的宝贵财富。当一个不见了，她就搜寻房子的每个角落，寻找失去的那个铜板。和第一个例子一样，当她最后找到铜板时也是兴高采烈，甚至到处和朋友邻居分享好消息。同样的，我们的天父也会到所有的角落寻找失丧的灵魂，当一个灵魂被拯救，祂的心也会欢喜快乐。
在第三个例子中，当任性的浪子要求父亲在去世以前就把他应得的财产分给他时，他的父亲尊重他的自由意识并给他当得的那一部分。但是，这个儿子因为错误的抉择而耗尽他所有的，最终决定回家当雇工。
这个故事令人感到奇妙的是，父亲从未停止盼望儿子的回来。当他看到儿子还离家很远时，他就跑向他并拥抱他。这位父亲对儿子的爱并没有自那天分财产后就逐渐消失。他即没有怨恨、也没有惩罚，反而是马上将他最好的献给他长久失丧的儿子。
这就是我们的天父的心肠。祂是那么地爱我们每一个人，希望我们悔改归向祂。不论我们做错了什么，祂都热切地要饶恕我们，拥抱我们回家，成为祂的孩子。即使我们曾伤透祂的心，选择偏行己路、耗尽祂所给予我们的一切。虽然祂有很多孩子，我们每一个人都是祂看为宝贵的，祂寻找我们，而每当一个灵魂得救的时候，祂就大大欢喜。
我们对失丧的灵魂是否也拥有像天父那样的心肠呢？如果拯救一个灵魂对上帝是那么地重要，对我们来说难道也不是吗？你是否愿意向一个人传福音，好让他或她再一次成为上帝的孩子，回到天父的怀抱，永远被拯救？因此，让我们的心肠像天父一样，对失丧的灵魂有一样的关爱，今天就传福音吧！
讲章系列：传福音
Image Source: pixabay.com