Confronted with the grumbling of respectable religious leaders who question his choices of dinner partners, Jesus tells stories. A shepherd leaves 99 sheep to go after the one who was lost. A woman turns her house upside down searching for a lost coin. (Luke 15:1-10) And in both stories, the lost is found, and all heaven rejoices. How we hear the stories depends upon where we see ourselves within the stories–are we the lost, found, seekers, sinners, or grumblers? Jesus invites his hearers to leave their grumbling behind, then see a gracious God who will stop at nothing to find the lost of the world.
