“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:24)
Jim walked through the crowd with his three little children in hand while decked out in red, white, and blue as they celebrated the Fourth of July with what seemed to be the entire town. In the blink of an eye, the moments of celebration quickly turned to a moment of sheer panic as Jim realized his littlest one’s hand had slipped away and that she was now in the midst of the busy crowd. Jim’s heart of a father physically hurt. Unlike losing a trinket or misplacing an important document, Jim found his body experiencing a wave of fear like never before.
While seeming to last forever, this moment was followed by a kind stranger in the crowd carefully helping Jim’s little girl reunite her with her family. The moment came when Jim finally saw her and it was as if life was moving in slow motion. Jim quickly went from panic to celebration like he had never experienced before.
It’s in the story, shared by Jesus in Luke 15, where we find a similar response as the father bursts into celebration as his lost son returns home. Here, we are divinely reminded of the celebration that happens when God’s children journey from lost to found and from death to life. Our heavenly Father loves us deeply and finds us, in all our humanness, always worth celebrating.
Remember that your heavenly Father finds you worth celebrating.
Laura Walls is a wife, new mom, and assistant pastor at Waterline Church. She enjoys laughing with friends, sitting around a campfire, and trips to the local craft store.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
