I have suffered great loss in my life. Not more than any other person I’m sure but losing my first love, my first spouse to leukemia was no doubt a great devastating loss.
As a young mother with 3 children the loss was all-consuming. Keeping it together each day was nearly impossible without God. Forging a new path alone seemed empty and void of purpose.
After time and some healing, finding new love was amazing and wonderful. I could not have known such depths of joy this love could bring had I not first known the heartache of great loss.
“We are moved with a more sensible joy for the recovery of what we had lost than for the continuance of what we had always enjoyed, for health out of sickness than for health without sickness. It is as life from the dead.” Matthew Henry
None of us can quite understand the great loss our God suffered when man sinned. When man chose his own way all hope of eternal fellowship was gone in an instant.
But love finds a way and finds us in our way! We can not completely comprehend the joy in Heaven when even one sinner is found! One sinner who repents of his wandering ways brings joy unimaginable to the compassionate Shepherd.
The suffering loser is suffering no more as he shouts “I have found!! I have found!!”
“Rejoice with me,” He calls.
“And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
Luke 15:6
The Pharisees of this world will murmur and find fault. They surmise that they are just sheep and will stray again.
But the friends of Jesus? What do we do? We rejoice with Him.
Loser Bible Study Series Theme Verse:
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35
“Lose” from the Greek word “Apollymi” means “to destroy fully.” It is translated “lost” in Luke 15:6, our verse for today.