Today I read Luke 15, where Jesus gives three different parables all centered around those who have sinned and then repented. The 3 parables are the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. In each of these parables, something is lost and then found again and there is much rejoicing.
In the first two parables, the lost sheep and the lost coin, the finding is done by the person who did the losing. This to me is indicative of efforts on the part of others to find the person who has strayed from the path. This is done in a myriad of ways and is accomplished by home teachers, bishops, friends and families. My mother actually was inactive for awhile in her life and it was her bishop who reached out to her and got her to come back to church and helped her gain a testimony. If he had not done that, I would not be sitting here today writing this blog. I can vouch that in such situations when someone who has been lost returns there is much rejoicing. It is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world to help someone who has lost their way and forgotten things come back into the fold and gain a testimony and be a strong member.
Another interpretation could be helping those who have lost their way in the sense of those who do not know of Jesus at all and we help them learn of the truth and the right way we should go. It is a truly wonderful feeling to help those who are not members of the church repent of their sins and be baptized. In my family two of my sisters in law were converted by their husbands, my brothers and it is a wonder to behold them and how strong in the Gospel they are. Every missionary knows that same feeling of wonder and pure joy when they teach someone who desires to hear the Gospel and then soaks it up like a sponge.
The last story is a very well known one, the story of the prodigal son. As is usual, when I was younger I used to look at this story differently. Since serving my mission though, I have come to look at it another way. Before my mission I really identified with the older son, the one who had lived the good life and how indignant he was over the fact that his brother's return was being made into such a good deal and he was kind of being tossed by the wayside. I agreed with him that it was not fair that such a fuss was being made over his brother because of how bad a life the brother had been living. I did not understand anymore than the brother in the story did why the father in the story was making such a big fuss over the brother who repented and came back.
Now that I am older and have served a mission and have some years under my belt, I identify more with the father in the story. I have had friends, and even a family member or two, that left the church and lost their way for many, many years who had a change of heart and returned to full activity in the church and have been good, upstanding members of the church for several years now. I remember the pure joy I felt when they made that decision and how it was the most important thing to me at that moment in time and I could have indeed thrown a party so that all could rejoice with me. Of course that is not how things are done in the church, but that's how happy I was. The funniest things is that I would have been the "good" son in that story and I was probably more thrilled and excited than anyone else. The thing the good son in the story of the prodigal son does not realize, is that rejoicing for a moment over the return of that brother/son/friend or whoever that was lost, does not in anyway shape or form take away from them and their accomplishments.
However, the fact that the "good" son in this story is upset that a party is being thrown in his younger brother's honor in the first place shows that he has not forgiven his brother for leaving them. He was holding onto resentment and feelings of anger towards his brother. If he had been at all concerned for his well being during the years he was gone, then he would have rejoiced just as much as his father did. But it is clear from his reaction that he was resentful of his brother leaving him to do all the work and for the younger brother living a life of sin. It is impossible to rejoice over the lost person if you do not have a Christlike attitude regarding them in the first place. It's very similar to helping those in need and imparting of our substance to them. In Mosiah 4, King Benjamin warns against just such behavior. He tells the Nephites that they might be tempted to think to themselves that the beggars situation is justified and their own fault, but we must not think that way. We must instead think only of how we can help and improve their situation.
So in order to first be any use in seeking out those who are lost, we must first make sure that we have the right attitude and are doing what we should be doing so that we can have the right frame of mind in assisting to find those who are lost. I personally cannot even understand holding a grudge like that against someone, but then again as I have mentioned before, easily forgiving others is one of my gifts. I can tell you this though, helping someone you love to come back and repent and return to full activity, is one of the best feelings in this entire world and it is unlike anything else you have ever experienced. If you have never done so, I highly encourage you to work with your bishop and missionaries in your ward/branch to see who you can help. You will not regret it. Until tomorrow.
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