Today's reading is Luke chapter 15. Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble. This man welcomed sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable, What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep. In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin. In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents. Then Jesus said, there was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to him, father, give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between them. After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country where he squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating. but no one would give him a thing. Finally, he came to his senses and said, how many of my father's hired servants have plenty of food, but here I am starving to death. I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.' So he got up and went to his father, but while he was still in the distance, His father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. The son declared, father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, quick, Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on. Your brother has returned, he said, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him, son. You are always with me, the father said, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost. and is found, and this is God's word. Recently, I was standing in a coffee shop, in line, while the couple in front of me placed their orders, paid, and received change. As the cashier was handing the man his change, the man dropped one of the coins. I watched it fall to the ground, where it leaned on its edge against the man's shoe. The man didn't notice any of this, and my first instinct was to reach down, pick up the coin, and hand it back to the man, but I hesitated for two reasons. First, the coin was touching him, so reaching down to pick it up would put me uncomfortably into his personal space. Second, the coin was just a penny, so was it really worth it for me, for merely one cent, to do this? Before I made a decision, the man did notice, and he reached down and picked it up himself, so my problem was solved. But the fact that it was a mere penny got me thinking about things that are lost. If you lost a penny, you might look around for it for a few seconds, but probably would not waste too much time searching because the value is so low. if you lost a $10,000 check or an extremely rare coin, one that was of great value to collectors and a personal value to you because it was given to you by a favorite grandpa or by someone else you loved. You would tear the place apart looking for that, right? You do that because of the immense value it has in terms of cash and personally to you as well. Here in Luke chapter 15, Jesus overheard the muttering of the religious in verse two about Jesus's tendency to spend time with the outcasts of society. Again, verse one and verse two. Those people were not worth anything to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were worth less than a penny because they were sinners in their terminology. If they were coins, not only would the religious people refuse to stoop down and pick them up, these religious leaders would grind them into the dust with their sandaled feet. Jesus told three stories here in Luke 15 to illustrate why he spent time with sinners. All of these stories have to do with the worth of the sinners involved. To Jesus, saving sinners was like a shepherd finding a lost sheep, as we saw in verses 3-7, a woman finding a lost coin, as we saw in verses 8-10, and a man reconciling with his lost son, that is, his rebellious son, as we saw in verses 11-24. The point of these stories was to invite the religious leaders to reconsider their hatred of sinners. In verses 25 and 32, we see that. But another key point of these stories is to illustrate how much lost humanity matters to God. I have many things in my past that I'm ashamed to have said or done. In my present life, there are areas where I wish I was more like Christ and had a greater desire to improve. While I don't think of myself as worthless, I have to admit that my sinfulness makes me far from desirable to a holy God. Jesus taught, however, that God loves to find his lost sons. This chapter calls us, then, to look at sinners differently. We should see ourselves and others not as worthless pennies, but as precious in God's sight, so precious that he came to find us. Let's give thanks for God's love and remember to love other sinners, no matter how reprehensible we think they are. To do anything else puts us in the place of the judgmental older brother in this passage, who missed out on the party because of his unloving attitude. If you like these devotionals, consider signing up to receive them in your email every day. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe for that. Also consider becoming a financial supporter so that I can make more content and reach more people with God's Word. To do that, go to dailypbj.com slash support. 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