Title Why people are precious
Contents
Why people are precious (Luke 15:1-7)
Jews did not treat tax collectors (tax officials) and prostitutes as “sinners” and treated them as human beings. I hated making eye contact with them. The tax collectors were good-natured wicked people who collected a lot of taxes from their people. Prostitutes were people selling their own bodies. However, some publicans and prostitutes repented after hearing Jesus’ words, and some wanted to hear His words. Jesus spoke to them as well, and when they invited them, they responded to their invitations. The Pharisees and the scribes were offended by Jesus' actions. They asked Jesus why he claimed to be the Messiah and was close to sinners. Jesus answered their question with a parable.
If a shepherd who was tending a hundred sheep finds that one sheep is missing, why not leave the remaining ninety-nine sheep to another shepherd and search for the lost sheep? And when he finds it, he said that he rejoices more than the ninety-nine sheep left in the pen. And again and again, when a person finds what he has lost, he speaks of joy. It is about the joy of finding a lost coin and the joy of a father when he finds his lost son.
God wants even a single sinner to repent and return rather than perish in iniquity. All people are equally important before God. It is sad when a talented, young and promising person in the world dies. But in the sight of God, man is worth the same. A person's worth in the sight of God does not depend on the appearance of a person's face, knowledge or ignorance, or having a lot of money or little money. After all, these things disappear with age, rot over time, and when they die, they are left behind.
God values people because they are children of God. If you look at advertisements looking for children, most of the lost children are mentally retarded. They are not children who can be proud of their parents or help them in the future even when they are at home. These are children who are only a burden to their parents. Even so, parents struggle and spend a lot of money to find such children. Why are they trying to find the lost children? Because they are their children.
God loves people and wants even one soul to be saved without being destroyed because they are precious children of God. We do not seem to know how much God is waiting and anxious for the return of his children who have left home. The person I hate and hate is also a precious child of God, and they also want to be saved by believing in Jesus. Let's pray for the person I hate.