3 Awesome Reasons for Joy Found in Jesus’ Love

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Jesus went out of His way to show people that He loved them.

And because as He said…

The Father and I are one.

John 10:30

Jesus made the point that He was showing them God’s love for them.

A love that is proclaimed in the stories Jesus shared in Luke 15.

• The Lost Sheep
• The Lost Coin
• The Prodigal Son

Jesus made it clear that God seeks out sinners and when they are found . . . He and all the hosts of heaven . . . REJOICE!

I love the messages of these parables.

The parable of the lost sheep tells us that the Lord seeks out those who are lost because of their own foolishness.

The parable of the lost coin explains that He seeks out those who are lost because of the carelessness of others.

And the parable of the prodigal son helps us know that He waits with open arms for those who are lost because of their own rebellion.

3 Reasons for Joy Found in Jesus’ Love

• God is always pursuing those who are lost.
  
  He has given each of us the freedom to trust Him or reject Him but He never does the rejecting. He is always doing whatever He can to find those who are lost.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

Luke 15:4, 8

• God is watching and waiting for those who have rejected Him to return home to Him.
  
  We believe that going our own way is freedom but the truth is freedom is found in Christ Jesus alone. The truth is the joy we want is found in returning to the Father through Jesus’ love.

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Luke 15:30

And then…

• God throws a joyful party whenever one of His children comes home to Him.
  
  But those who are self-righteous are in danger of missing out on the joy of celebrating God’s gift of forgiveness . . . both in the giving and in the receiving.
  
  In Jesus’ story, the father left the party to seek out and plead with prideful older son to join the celebration because the Father seeks out both the unrighteous and the self-righteous. He wants everyone to experience His mercy, grace, and love.

The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him…

Luke 15:28

A Prayer to Experience Joy in Jesus

Lord, Your grace overwhelms me. You have given us the ability to make our own choices fully knowing that sometimes we will lose our way because of foolishness, carelessness, and rebellion. But even then, I see how You have worked in my life to guide me back to You.

When one of Your children returns from a time of rebellion, You are there watching and waiting with open arms, a forgiving heart, and the gift of freedom and joy.

Father, I am sorry for failing to faithfully follow Your will. I humbly come to You, and I thank You for seeking me, finding me, and forgiving me.

I ASK that by Your grace, You will give me the desire to SEEK You above all else and that You will help me forgive as I have been forgiven.

Thank you for giving me the gift of JOY. And all I have is because You have blessed me through Jesus’ love. I thank You and praise You. Amen.

Warren Wiersbe wrote:

Sin promises freedom, but it only brings slavery (John 8:34); it promises success, but brings failures; it promises life, but “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

The truth is . . . all we need forever and eternally is found in Jesus’ love.

On today’s note write:

Jesus’ love gives me JOY!

May God bless you today with the joy that is found in Jesus!

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