Ever wonder who is looking for you?  Every so often I see ads for a website that offers to show you who has been searching for you online.  There is a part of all of us that wants to be sought after.  Fortunately for us we have a Savior who did just that...

In his book "The Prodigal God" Tim Keller shares some incredible insights into the stories that Jesus tells in Luke 15.  The Pharisees are complaining that Jesus hangs out with sinful people at the expense of spending time with more "worthy" religious types...like them. 

In response Jesus shares three stories.  In the first someone loses a coin, looks for it, finds it, and rejoices.  In the second someone loses a sheep, looks for it, finds it, and rejoices.  The third story is about a man and his son.  You would expect that he would lose his son, look for him, find him, and rejoice - right? 

But that isn't what happens. 

The son gets lost, realizes he is lost, comes crawling home to grovel at his father's feet, and instead the father embraces him as a son and rejoices.  The change in the plotline is intentional...Jesus wants the listeners to miss the one who would go out looking for the son and find him.  There is a second brother in the story.  An older brother who should have gone out looking for his lost brother, but instead resents his selfish brother and resents his father for welcoming him back into their family. 

By contrast, there is Jesus.  Our true older brother who would sacrifice His own life and His rights as God to come looking for us and pay the price that our sin required to rescue us.

We can't save ourselves through our own good deeds. 

We can't be our own saviors. 

We can't find happiness by running away from God and fulfilling our own desires.

True joy and salvation come only through Jesus Christ.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
~ 1 John 1:1-4

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