Image © Darrel Tank from GoodSalt.com

[Thought Questions for The Mission of Jesus May 5, 2015]

1. To seek and save the lost. How well do these words of Luke define the mission of Jesus? Do we need a sense of dedication like this in our lives as well? Did Jesus know who was lost? Did He know where they were? What was His compelling purpose for the lost? Do we ever lose things in our daily lives? Forget where our billfold is? Have we ever lost an animal that was precious to us? Does a member of our family ever wander away? What can we learn from these simple examples of “lost and found” to bring us closer to God’s plan for us?

2. The lost sheep. Seriously, my friend, does God really need each of us in His kingdom? Will He suffer in sorrow if we don’t make it? Won’t heaven be magnificent enough if one of us chooses to fall from His love? How closely does God hover over each of us in this sin-filled and desperate world? What can we understand about His infinite love for his children who stray? Do you live so close to Jesus that you could never be lost? What about the lost coin? To what extent does Jesus go to find us and draw us to Him? Why?

3. The lost son. Have you experienced the spiritual loss of a son or daughter? Or agonized with a friend who is watching a child wander away from spiritual values? Didn’t the wayward son plan carefully for his departure? Did he assume that the money and the freedom he could so easily obtain were of tremendous value to him? Money and freedom. Do we also long for those two treasures? How much did they matter to the wayward son when he returned home? Why?

4. Thinking. On the young man’s long journey home on foot, what thoughts do you imagine coming to the wayward son’s mind? Has sin ever held you back from believing that God is your Father? Have you ever felt a wide and growing distance between yourself and Jesus? What was the father’s first reaction when he looked out and saw his son stumbling on his way home? Why didn’t his brother feel joy at seeing the wandering young man coming back home? What did the he think of the way their father was treating his returning son like royalty? Was he being fair? Did the returning son deserved to be honored?

5. Healing those who are blind.  Does Luke give the impression that he totally accepts God’s standing before all of us with open arms? If you had neither money nor eyesight, could you still sense the overwhelming love of God? How did this blind man (Bartimaeus) find out about Jesus? If you should lose your ability to walk or to talk, if you couldn’t hear or see any more, could God reach you and invite you to be healed and restored as a full member of His household.

6. Zacchaeus could see, but… Was Jesus looking for Zachaeus or was Zachaeus looking for Jesus? Besides his physical weakness of being too short to see Jesus without climbing into a tree, what spiritual problems did this tax collector have? What did Jesus offer this weak, money-driven man? How did Zachaeus respond? If you’d been in Jericho at that time, would you have understood Jesus’ wholehearted acceptance of this little man? Can Jesus still teach us to accept those caught in the snares of sin and help bring them to wholeness in Jesus? How does He do that?

These parables of Luke are available 24-7 and can lead us to deeper and deeper understanding of God’s love for each of us.

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