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two types of lost

Happy Friday, friends! Second week in a row publishing… I’m loving it! I wanted to talk about a chapter in the bible that would not leave me alone. I actually did my very first small group on my college campus with this chapter as the center of our study. For sixteen months I’ve been saying, “I need to write about this” and just never did. So here we go – finally!

Before we dive into the scripture, I want to be clear and say this is not a theology essay or something only a “long-term” Christian will get. This is for two groups of people – 1) those who know they’ve made decisions that led them to feel far from God, and 2) those who feel like they’ve done all the “right” things but still feel left out, forgotten, or unseen.

I want to emphasize how the chapter we’re reading today has shown up in all of my seasons: when I was the one choosing to rebel against God, when I lost relationships and friendships I thought would last longer than just a season, when I was surrounded by community and still feel completely invisible. This is Luke 15 – the chapter of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.

For a little context, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, who are confused and critical about Him spending time with “sinners”. He responds to them with three parables, each one intricately teaching us something about our Father’s heart but also about our own.

Something I started to notice when I was prepping for my bible study is that these parables aren’t just for the “obvious sinners” who run away and then come home. They’re also for the ones who stayed obedient and still felt left out, the ones who got left, and the ones who feel lost in the middle of the crowd.

For the ones who chose to leave the house, let’s start with Luke 15:4-7:

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that 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 that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

This parable is for the one who wandered off the path God had for them but was still met along their walk. We see how differently God’s way of thinking is compared to our human way of thinking. Any of us would say, “Ninety-nine out of one hundred isn’t bad.” and move on. But God notices the one that is missing. The beautiful part of this parable is that the ninety-nine sheep couldn’t replace the one that was lost. That one sheep had value that the Shepherd went after.

I want to jump into another parable and look at Luke 15:11-24:

11 “And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Here, we see the younger son in rebellion, followed by regret, ending in restoration. A quick historical note, in that culture, the oldest son would receive a larger portion of the inheritance after the father passes away. For the younger son to go to his father and demand his share early was basically saying, “I don’t need you. I want to live my life my own way.” And for the father to grant that request was shocking. So when Jesus told this story, everyone listening would’ve seen the younger son as the obvious “lost” one.

But notice this – the shepherd went after the one lost sheep, and the father only noticed the son returning because he was watching for him. There is so much freedom to know that we can choose to turn our back on Jesus, but He’ll never turn His on us. He’s the One searching, waiting, and longing to bring us home.

This is for those who chose to leave the house. The ones who knew His presence but chose to live differently. If that’s you, these parables are reminders that the Creator of the universe is looking for you. He won’t force you home – because forced love isn’t love, it’s control. But He is watching for you, and heaven is ready to throw a celebration when you take His hand and come back.

For the second group of people, we’ll go back to Luke 15:8-10:

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently 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 that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This is for the ones who didn’t choose to be lost – your circumstances led you there. This is probably my favorite parable in this chapter because it reflects so much of my own testimony. Unlike the sheep, a coin doesn’t “wander off”. If a coin gets lost, it’s because of what’s happening around it. Maybe you feel invisible or unseen, even when you’re in community. Maybe you were born into a family that hurt you more than they protected you. Maybe you have gone through breakups or friendship fallouts and were left feeling alone. Not lost because of some dramatic sin. Simply lost because of circumstance.

Another perspective I love about this parable is that the one lost coin could seem small compared to the other nine. When our circumstances make us feel lost, our value can start to feel small too. But God sees it differently. I don’t know what circumstance you may face, but He does. He is the One to turn the house upside down to find you. He notices when one coin is missing from a full purse. Your value means more to Him than anything your situation is shouting at you.

The same parable we read above with the prodigal son, but we’re going to explore the heart of the older brother. Luke 15:25-32:

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Remember, Jesus told these parables to a crowd of religious, self-righteous people. He sets up the story so everyone agrees on who looks “obviously lost”, but then He flips it. The younger son rebelled, yes, but the older brother was resentful of the celebration. Both were far from the Father’s heart, just in different ways.

I love these parables because they all have the same message from different angles. The older brother was lost, yet he never asked for his share of property to go live wildly. The ninety-nine sheep never wandered off, yet they stood in the field while the shepherd went after the one that did. The other coins weren’t lost, yet were left alone while the one that was misplaced was searched for and celebrated.

For a long time, when I heard the word “lost”, I always pictured a person who had completely run away from God and towards a life full of sin. But the more I sat with Luke 15, the more I realized there’s another kind of lost that hurts just as much – and it doesn’t happen in the world, it happens in the house. Being lost can also look like the older brother or the lost coin – still in the house, but still lost. Being lost can look like showing up in the same seat every Sunday and watching others get celebrated, pursued, and chosen.

Luke 15 speaks to the one who left God by choice, the one who got left, and the one who stayed with God but quietly wonders if He’s forgotten them. In every story we just read, something is lost, someone searches, and it ends in rejoicing and celebration. No one is expendable – not the wanderer, the one who was dropped, not the sibling who stayed in the house. God goes, He sweeps, and He runs towards us.

Maybe you’re the sheep that ran. Or maybe you’re the coin that was or is lost due to circumstance, not your own choices. Maybe you’re the older brother, watching others get the praise you feel you’ve earned. Whatever situation fits you, God is looking for you.

Another passage I want to mention is Mark 2:1-4: 1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

Here, Jesus heals the paralytic. The house is packed, there’s no room at the door, and the roof had to literally be cut just to get this man to Jesus. It wasn’t proximity that brought the man healing, it was his faith and the encounter he had with Jesus. If his friends had stopped at the door, he may have never received healing. Because when you leave the house without an encounter, it’s just a building. But when you leave the house after an encounter, it’s now a home. You’ve been healed. You’ve been found.

Mark 2 ties into the parables in Luke 15 so beautifully – you can be in the house, but still lost, still be hurting, still bitter about the way God seems to be pouring grace on someone else’s story. Proximity to Jesus is not the same thing as intimacy with Jesus. Like the older brother in Luke 15, you can be in the Father’s house and still be spiritually distant from His heart.

As someone who’s only been a Christian for about three years now, ministry can already start to feel “normal” sometimes. Worship in service can feel repetitive. Routines can blur into noise. But these scriptures help me pause and ask: What is my intention in showing up tonight? Do I actually believe God is going to move every time I walk through the doors of a church/worship event? Have I given up in believing God can bring them back home?

Being “lost” is not something that only applies to people outside of the church. It’s not limited to obvious, external sinners. Being lost can look like a leader in ministry going through the motions, a lifelong Christian who holds onto resentment and jealousy, or a person in the house who completely misses the grace and joy God has for the brother or sister who was just found.

Friend, if you’re feeling lost in either scenario, you have not reached your ending yet. Go back and reread each of the three parables – the shepherd searched until he found the sheep and joyfully carried it home. The woman searched carefully for the coin and rejoiced once it was found. The father ran up to the son, gave him a robe and ring, and threw him a feast to celebrate.

If your story hasn’t ended in celebration with Jesus, it’s not over. Jesus loves each of us uniquely. These parables were told to teach and to confront. Jesus’ audience wasn’t filled with people who were lost by obvious wandering, but by pride, just as the older brother was. And even there, in that place of pride, Jesus was extending grace. There is no limit to His grace, no matter which perspective you resonate with: the sheep, the coin, the younger son, or the older brother.

Thank you for reading, friends! I’m so grateful for you!