(Luke 15)

All three of these parables were given in response to a complaint from the Pharisees that Jesus received sinners and ate with them. The three parables all tell of the joy in heaven (and, one might infer from the third parable, of God) when a lost sinner repents. These parables are obviously gospel pictures. What practical lessons can we learn from them?

From the first and second we learn that we must go where the sinners are if we are to lead them to Christ. Now, the shepherd in the first parable is a picture of Christ who came "to seek and to save that which was lost." However, we are to be imitators of Christ. We cannot merely attach a sign to the assembly hall announcing gospel services at certain times and consider ourselves to have evangelized the neighborhood. We must make an effort to get people into the hall. This effort may not be successful since in this day prying people away from their television and other amusements is almost impossible, so we must take the gospel to them. Going door-to-door, writing personal letters, giving or mailing out tracts, speaking to acquaintances at work or school, and inviting people into our homes are just a few of the ways to reach people where they are.

Let us not be afraid to do something just because no one else we know is doing it. Do you live near a college or university? Ask the dean of students if there are any international students or American students from distant areas whom you could invite to your home during school holidays. Missions, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, crisis pregnancy centers, and shelters for the homeless are some of the places where there are people who are lonely, sick, frightened and lost. The people at these places may not look good or behave pleasantly but they will need Christ. They will probably not be able to get out to gospel meetings, so we need to take the gospel to them. The shepherd searched until he found the lost sheep. The woman searched till she found the lost coin.

The parable of the prodigal son can give us lessons on the behavior of parents toward grown children. There comes a time when parents must let go. The father gave the son what he asked for and let him go. He didn’t argue with him or try to make him feel guilty. He allowed the natural consequences of the young man’s behavior to teach him lessons that no amount of lecturing on the father’s part could have taught him. When the young man was ready to return, the father welcomed him with great rejoicing, and with no recriminations. If we see our grown children engaging in behavior of which we do not approve, it is probably best to leave them in God’s hands_to speak primarily to God about our concerns and not much (about their behavior) to the children themselves. God will be able to deal with them in ways we would never have thought of and in ways with which our nagging would only interfere. When God has answered our prayers and our children have "come to themselves," let us rejoice at their restoration without trying to make them feel guilty or reminding them of their misbehavior. An approach like that of the father’s in the parable will help our children to have a closer relationship with God and their parents. Parental nagging and lecturing, on the other hand, will be likely to drive the children away from God and their parents.