In Luke 15, Jesus tells 3 parables that are meant to cut straight to the heart of the question, “what is God like?” At Imago Dei, we believe that ultimately God is relationship. It should therefore be no surprise that Jesus’ powerful parables culminate in perhaps one of the most powerful stories of all time—the prodigal son. In this parable God is described relationally, as a father. If we limit our understanding of God to our head, we are not very likely to follow him. If we understand God as relationship, something that takes place in our heart, we are likely to pursue Him.

In these 3 parables, Jesus reiterates how much God loves us. He loves us so much that if we are only 1 in 99 (the sheep) he will still come looking. If we are only 1 in 10 (the coin) he will still come looking. If we are 1 of 2 (the son) he will be out looking. God doesn’t forget us when we are missing. He doesn’t operate on a moral matrix (it’s our fault we are missing...we’re broken), but rather a relational matrix (my heart breaks that they are missing...I love them!). When his children are not with him, he feels many of the same feelings you feel when relationships in your life are distorted.

All of us are in this story. We all know what it is like to lose something. We all know what it is like to ache in the deepest places of our hearts. We all know what it is like to be lost...

Luke 15