When A Sinner Repents
Luke 15:8-10 (NKJV)
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Jesus teaches that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents. It’s wonderful to think about that heavenly celebration. However, this joyful response to a penitent sinner shouldn’t be limited to the hosts of heaven. Those of us who are in God’s kingdom on Earth, the Lord’s Church, should be filled with joy and excitement when a sinner makes the decision to obey the gospel or to return to the fold of God.
A lot of folks are afraid to confess their sins and wrongdoings before a congregation of believers. Why? Of course they are sorry for what they have done and ashamed of their sins, a necessity for true repentance. However, do we ever consider that we (Christians) might be hindering people from making that decision because of how we’ve responded to the repentance of others?
When the woman in the parable found the coin she had lost, she rejoiced with her friends and neighbors. When a sinner decides to follow Jesus or when a wayward brother or sister returns to the fold, do we rejoice with the the hosts of heaven, or do we wonder why nobody ever celebrates us? Why isn’t anyone rejoicing over our faithfulness?
That’s the errored perspective the older brother of the prodigal son had in the next parable. His younger brother had squandered his inheritance through riotous living and brought shame upon his family, but he returned home, his father rejoiced and had a grand celebration.
Luke 15:28-32 (NKJV)
But he [the older brother] was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
I hope we can learn a valuable lesson from this. Not only does our Heavenly Father rejoice when one of His children is reconciled to Him, but we should be full of joy too! Each time a sinner repents, the kingdom grows and a lost soul is saved from eternal separation from God. We need to be loving, forgiving, and joyful when good things like this happen. The only way we can keep ourselves from thinking like the prodigal son’s older brother is to realize that our service to God is not about us, it is about God’s divine will being accomplished.
-Eric Bullock, Evangelist
