Tag Archives: The Lost

The Signs of the Times

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As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the End of the Age?” Matthew 24:3 ESV1

Read Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-27 & Luke 21:5-28

For as long as I have lived in this house, I have gotten a great deal of pleasure out of viewing the huge trees in my neighbor’s front yard. Those trees have blessed that house with shade for generations. And they have been a great joy to me every Autumn when their leaves have turned such vibrant reds, oranges, and golds. But this year is different. This Spring, my neighbor had those trees cut down. Why? Because what appeared so impressive from the outside was completely rotten in the middle. One strong windstorm and any one of those trees could have toppled and caused great damage to their home and harm to their very lives. Retaining them because of their beauty wasn’t worth the risk.

Thinking about those trees reminds me of something I recently studied in the Bible.

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Take Your Goat and Have a Party

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“‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” 15:32 NASB1

Read Luke 15:11-32

I have spent the majority of my adult life working as a homemaker or holding volunteer positions. That means caring for my family and creating a peaceful sanctuary in my home has consumed much of my time. But I have had the privilege of using the remainder of my time to participate in a variety of activities that have had eternal and life-changing effects. But it has also meant that I haven’t received a paycheck.

Once, in the presence of my children, when I was sharing what I would do if I had some money I could call my own, my son responded, “Take your goat and have a party!” What he meant was, “Dad has adequate resources. In the eyes of God and the law, you two are one; what is his, is yours. He loves you, and he appreciates the work you do to contribute to the family and the community. I am sure he would be more than agreeable for you to spend some of the money he has made on that.” My son was serious; he didn’t mean to be funny, but we all burst out laughing.

“Take your goat and have a party” has since become a family saying. Whenever anyone in our home complains about a perceived lack in the presence of actual abundance, he or she will hear, “Take your goat and have a party!” We all know who came up with the saying, but the idea didn’t originate with my son. He got the idea from the following parable of Jesus.

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Reunited

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“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?” Luke 15:8 ESV1

Read Luke 15:8-10

One February day in the late 1980s over a bucket of chicken, my then-boyfriend got down on one knee, pulled a ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and asked me to be his wife. After my initial shock, I said, “Yes.” We were still in college but we planned on getting married as soon as we both graduated. We were so much in love and spent as much time together as possible as we looked with excitement to the future.

One day, shortly after I accepted his proposal and the sparkling new engagement ring, my fiancé and I went together—probably hand in hand—to the campus gym to get some exercise. When I changed into my workout attire, I slipped my brand new, precious piece of jewelry, which represented to me all that love and hope had to offer, into the pocket of my blue jeans for safekeeping.

After exercising, I decided not to change back into my street clothes. Instead, I planned to shower and put on fresh clothes at home. So, I picked up the clothing I had been wearing before I worked out and my fiancé and I walked toward his apartment talking and laughing as we went. At his door, we intended to part ways and each go on with the day in our separate ways. It was then that I remembered my engagement ring.

I expected to put the ring on my finger and admire it as I walked to my car. But when I reached into the pocket of my jeans, my ring was not there! I had lost it! My husband-to-be had spent all he had saved for several months, working many hours of overtime, to purchase that ring. There was no hope that it could be replaced—at least for quite some time. Immediately, a mixture of shock, fear, panic, sadness, and disappointment fell upon us. What should we do now?

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