Children and Parenting

Luke 15 records an encounter between Jesus and some Pharisees and scribes who grumbled that He was hanging out with “tax collectors” and “sinners” (Luke 15:1), the losers of ancient Jewish society – This time He confronted the Philistines’ hard hearts with not one, not two, but three parables: the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son.

In the Lost Sheep, a shepherd leaves behind ninety-nine sheep to find the one sheep that had wandered off. When the sheep is found, the shepherd carries the sheep home on his shoulders and joyfully calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him, “for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (verse 6).

In the Lost Coin, a woman who had ten silver coins, but lost one of them, searches every nook and cranny until she finds it. Like the shepherd, this woman gathers her friends and neighbors, saying “Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!” (verse 9).

Finally, Jesus tells the story of the Lost Son, perhaps the most moving of this trio of parables. In this story about two sons, the younger son goes to his dad to demand his share of his inheritance.

So the father in Jesus’ story agrees to the son’s request, and, sure enough, the son takes off to party like there’s no tomorrow. But not too long after living the high life with the wrong crowd, spending everything he had on wild living, the prodigal son fell on hard times – Coming to his senses, the son humbled himself and headed home with a prepared speech, hoping to patch things up with his father enough that he would be allowed to live as one of his servants. He was probably anticipating the dreaded “I told you so” speech, but he was just that desperate.

Yet to his astonishment, his father . . . ran to embrace him and welcome him back as his beloved child. Instead of a lecture, the son receives mercy and grace, and a party to celebrate his homecoming!

These three parables demonstrate that our heavenly Father seeks us when we are lost, and He rejoices when we are found and restored to fellowship. . . .

So when we know someone who is living apart from God, how should we respond when they return to the fold? The Bible makes it clear that imitating the Father, not the judgmental Pharisees, is the way to go. Let’s greet the prodigals in our lives by welcoming them into our fellowship with unconditional love, not an “I told you so.”

Taken from The Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible