This passage is one of those beautiful metaphoric passages about the Kingdom of God. Whether in terms of sheep or coins, we see the love of God for even one of his lost, little ones – all of us creatures – the children of God. God cares so much! Isn’t that wonderful? Boy, I would love to stop thinking right there…
However, this passage falls on a very specific day…a horrible day. Fifteen years ago this Sunday, the World Trade Towers in New York were destroyed. You know the story.
Where was God that day?
Where was the Kingdom?
The lost were there, weren’t they? Sheep, coins…people.
On that day, some different kingdoms were at war. A kingdom of hate embodied in the extremists who took so many lives, and a kingdom of greed and exploitation symbolized (at least for the extremists) in the World Trade Center.
In the face of such terror and horror, the searching, loving God of Luke 15 is the ember of hope for us. God won’t give up. He’ll find his lost, treasured children…though it may not seem to be soon enough.
Sometimes, an ember is all we need to start a fire…
What do you think? If these comments start you to thinking, you might want to pick up this to read too.