“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 which was lost!’ … When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ … ‘For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate…. But he [the older brother] became angry and was not willing to go in” (Luke 15:6, 9, 24, 28a).

All of us have experienced the terrible panic of losing something precious, and then the unexpected joy of finding it again. In fact, one of my sisters even came to faith in Yeshua as a result of losing her beloved cat Joshua and finding him again after a heart-rending prayer. In all three stories of this parable, there’s lots of joy. And there should be. Who wouldn’t be happy for the shepherd, the widow, and the weeping father? Well, there is one person, and it’s the older religious son.

And this parable potently encapsulates the emotional state of disciples who are focused on the Great Commission over against those who are consumed with the letter of the law. When we devote our time, resources, and prayers to seeking, we will also have plenty of occasion to celebrate finding. On the flip side, when we devote our time to religiously barricading ourselves from the world, we will be busy defending rather than seeking, shunning rather than finding, and most definitely angry about the horrific behavior of the irreligious people in the world (see Luke 15:1-2).

Do we long to be joy-filled disciples? Let’s start seeking! For those who seek not only follow the footsteps of their Savior, but most assuredly will have plenty of occasion to rejoice in their finds.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).