We can all relate to these two stories, can’t we? No, coins might not be worth as much as they used to, and most of us don’t measure our net worth in livestock, but all of us have things that are valuable to us. And all of us know what it’s like to misplace things – how many hours have been spent searching for glasses and car keys? So of course we know that unique combination of relief and joy we experience when we find what we thought we had lost.

So, why do we experience these emotions? For at least two reasons: what we lost was valuable, and what we lost belonged to us. After all, if we were to find someone’s wallet with lots of money in it, I’d like to think we would all return it to its rightful owner. We might be happy for him, but we probably wouldn’t throw a party. Just so, if you were looking for a safety pin to make a quick repair, you would be relieved to find it, but probably not overwhelmed with joy. It is the combination of ownership and value that produces the joy Jesus describes.

But that’s what makes these stories so remarkable: Jesus insists that God values even lost sinners the way we treasure our most cherished possessions. And He says that God considers these sinners to belong to Him, to be His own, even though they might have turned their backs on Him for years.

So today, if you believe that no one cares about you, if you think you’re all alone, if you think you just don’t matter that much, you couldn’t be more wrong. The amazing truth is that the God of the universe, the God Who created you in His own image, loves you so much that He laid down His life even for the worst, the least deserving of sinners. And every time one of His children returns to Him, His heart is filled with joy.

So, let’s make God’s day. Today, let’s turn to Him in prayer and listen to Him as we read His Word. And in the light of the cross, let’s share in God’s joy and His amazing love.

Luke 15:1-10 (NAS)

Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 And He told them this parable, saying,
4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?
5 “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
9 “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”