Have you heard the 3 Parables? Luke 15
The “Lost”
There are lots of reasons we lose friendships in life. Sometimes it is our own fault, sometimes the fault of others, and occasionally unforeseen life circumstances simply take us away. I can’t help but think about all the friends I made and lost as a kid after moving away to a new town so many times. Some of those friends I still think fondly about. I wish I could connect with them and see how they are doing. One friendship is so significant to me that I even named my daughter after her. Oh, how I wish I had a way to connect with those lost friends. They meant, and in some regards, still, mean so much to me. I wonder if they think of me sometimes too.
For us, it is the same with our connection with God. In one way, to no fault of our own, we became disconnected from Him through the sins of Adam and Eve. Thankfully, unlike me and my faulty memory, God had not forgotten our names and is much better skilled at finding us than I am at finding those who I only have fond memories of left to enjoy. I am so thankful we have reconnected, and I so look forward to the day I get to see His face. What a joyous reunion that will be. It is going to be a serious party, I can assure you.
-Peggy Horne
Love, that word gets tossed around so freely in our society. In the English language we use love to describe how we feel about our favorite food, or a movie, a shirt, and the same word is used to describe how we feel about our spouses, our friends, our families. In our language the love word is almost cheapened; it is so much deeper than just that word. The bible describes love by laying down your life for someone. It is easy to say we love something or even someone but it is our actions that give how we truly feel away.
Loving family and friends can sometimes be hard and frustrating. When we see a person we love making bad choices, choices that we know will lead them down a treacherous path; do we sit back and watch or does love compel us to warn them? People talk a lot about how they say what they feel and they don’t “sugar coat” anything or they're just “being real”, in the name of love; but their words hurt and many times discourage those they love and are trying to help. Jesus, whenever He had a warning or seen those He loved making bad choices, going down a path that led them away from Him, He would warn them in the most loving way, with words that made them think about their actions and feel discouraged. Jesus pursues us with love and kindness for He is Love, His love is the only love that will never leave us or give up on us; it is kind, long-suffering, not boastful, overwhelming, and never ending.
-Tomi Carr
Due to the type of love my father showed me as a kid, it was hard for me to understand the parable of the prodigal son, at first. It didn’t quite click with me – because I had a messed up view of love. My experience with love was conditional. It was about receiving, not giving.
But the deeper I dove into the parable, and the more I learned about God’s unconditional love, I was left in utter amazement. Jesus helped teach me the true meaning of love, and how beautiful Christlike love really is.
-Zane Cole